The Story of Never Never
About Us Story
The Story of Never Never
As with a lot of good Aussie stories, the next act begins over a pint in a pub.
Never Never Distilling Co. is the story of three mates with a shared passion for flavour and the lofty ambition to create Australia’s most exciting and innovative gin brand. It’s the culmination of our separate journeys, three paths walked that intertwine here in South Australia.
Never Never started with the crossing of paths of founders George, Sean and Tim. All three were forging careers in their different field, George and Tim in finance based in Sydney and London respectively. While Sean was working as a Brand Ambassador for the Diageo Reserve portfolio. All three had ties to Adelaide and it was here where the journey began.
The Never Never is the space beyond the horizon and beneath the stars. To step into it, is to step into the unknown, it is to seek adventure.
When George ran into Tim for the first time in 5 years it was a watershed moment that went something like this:
George: How have you been? How was London?
Tim: Yeah all good, good to be back. What's next for you?
George: Thinking a distillery!
Tim: You're kidding?
George: No, why?
Tim: So am I.
Tim’s obsession with distilling and brewing is hereditary – a descendant of the Gilbey family of distillers in Scotland, he was tinkering with stills and fermenters in his back garden long before he had a full-scale distillery to play with.
Like Tim, George’s background is finance – but don’t hold that against him. Always a science whizz, he travelled the world researching the skill of flavour production (including courses in brewing and distilling).
He was drawn into the world of flavour and he knew that when he made his own spirits it would be in his hometown of Adelaide, inspired by the quality artisanship for which the region is known.
Sean came from a hospitality background being a career bartender and keen cook (a Masterchef contestant, in fact!). He is well acquainted with the output end of the flavour making process as well as having the marketing and brand management know-how which comes from working as a National Brand Ambassador for Diageo.
So, the scene is set, and as with a lot of good Aussie stories, the next act begins over a pint in a pub. Three mates with a love of flavour and craftmanship decide to pool their money for the final piece of the puzzle – a 300L pot and column hybrid still which they named Wendy. They set her up in the back of a brewery on the outskirts of Adelaide, and the adventure began.
Both the name and their love of adventure is inspired by the Never Never - the vast Australian expanse of the Australian outback that stretches beyond the horizon.
To step into the Never Never is to journey into the unknown - and for Never Never, that meant leaving established careers to start a distillery with the ambition to leave a global mark on the gin category - that is a commitment to adventure and a real step into the unknown.
As of May 2024, Never Never is proudly part of the Asahi Beverages family. This allows us the opportunities to finally take Never Never and build it into the brand we have always dreamed of. We didn’t start Never Never to be small. That’s somewhat ironic given we started in a 16sqm space in a shed with no running water. It was always our ambition to build a spirit brand that competed with some of the biggest in the world, we just thought it might take a while. Every big brand starts with one or two people with aspirations of greatness, with a passion and commitment to quality flavour. We want our brand to have a similar trajectory, to grow into something beyond our comprehension and to continue to tell our story for generations to come.
While this is a game changer for our brand, outside of the support it provides, this won’t change the core of the business. Rest assured, the founder team will be working hard to continue to achieve the success that has got us to this point. Tim will keep making –what we think– is the world’s best liquid (no pressure Tim). Our production methods won’t change. Sean will keep working closely with the best bars around the country and coming up with even bigger April Fool’s Day gags (maybe we actually go to Mars after all?). George will keep running the business, drinking martinis and running marathons (what, he hasn’t told you yet? He will. Great time by the way). The rest of our team will be staying on and will be able to grow securely within the business. We also plan on making new hires that will assist in growing our small South Australian gin brand into a much bigger one.
We’ve always aimed for the horizon (that’s why it’s on our bottle) and we’ve worked non-stop to get here. Now, we’re staring at the next horizon and the one beyond that. The work has only just begun, and we can’t wait to grow Never Never into something incredibly special and share it with you all.
The Never-Never Country | Henry Lawson | 1901
To where 'neath glorious the clustered stars
The dreamy plains expand —
My home lies wide a thousand miles
In the Never-Never Land..
Winter Opening Hours
Friday
11AM—7PM
Saturday
11AM—6PM
Sunday—Thursday
11AM—5PM