The award-winning Kilderkin Distillery opened in Alfredton, Ballarat in 2016 and is now planning to reuse a 2774 square metre block, formerly home to the BGT Youth Training Centre.

If approved, Kilderkin will join several other Ballarat businesses and start-ups looking at sites in and around the once-grand Sunnyside Woollen Mills.

Kilderkin (the name for a 18-gallon or 82-litre wooden spirit container - not a 'barrel', which is 36 gallons) is the second distillery in Ballarat, following the original establishment of Dunn's Warrenheip Distillery in 1862-63.

After Dunn's operation went into receivership in 1872, it was purchased and reopened by Henry Brind and Partners, and was described as:

"Famous for its spirits, has about 150 acres of land at Dunnstown, an unfailing supply of spring water, and turns out about 80,000 gallons of whiskey, geneva, and rectified spirits of wine per annum, which could be increased, if need were, to 100,000 gallons."

The original buildings are still standing in Dunnstown: at one point the distillery employed one-third of all distillery workers in Victoria.

READ MORE:

While Kilderkin is not on the scale of of Dunn and Brind's operation just yet, owner Chris Pratt says the move is aimed at securing a future for the distillery's manufacturing.

"We've been in Ballarat since our start and we feel strongly about continuing here, and this move is part of that," Mr Pratt told The Courier.

"We look forward to producing a gin which reflects our label and is recognised nationally.

"We've recently been awarded best Victorian Gin 2020 for our naval strength Buccaneer gin, and we feel this move will help us establish ourselves in Ballarat even more strongly."

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.