In the heart of Arrowtown’s gold mining precinct, historic Dudley’s Cottage is home to Rifters, a boutique gin distillery making a big impact by nurturing the local environment, and giving back.

The team at Rifters hand picks local botanicals to create a unique blend of flavours to its range of handcrafted gins, ensuring each bottle represents the surrounding region.

Inspired by the mountains, lakes and rivers of Queenstown Lakes district, and with a keen interest in the fragrant botanical spirit, carpenters Hamish and Stu decided to have a go at creating their own small batch premium gins.

A rifter is a forager or fossicker from the early gold rush era, known to explore the rifts around the hills of Arrowtown in search for the elusive gold nugget. The team at Rifters now passionately follow those footsteps, foraging locally for fresh native ingredients including wild thyme, bay leaf, elderberries and green cardamom.

With a deep care for the land they forage from, Rifters General Manager Philip Riley says they are always looking at new and innovative ways to improve the sustainability of the business.

“We supply Rifters gin to bars around New Zealand using a waste free gin distribution package designed in-house. Since introducing the concept four years ago, Rifters has saved more than 10,000 glass bottles from becoming waste,” Philip said.

The kit consists of a five litre keg which is supplied to bars along with a Rifters decanter for serving the gin. When the keg runs low, it is sent back to the distillery to refill, and the gin lifecycle starts again.

“Every five litre decanter used in bars saves seven single bottles from landfill, eliminating unnecessary waste and contributing to a more sustainable future for our business, and the wider region,” he said.

Encouraging others around New Zealand to follow similar values, Rifters bottles are made from 90% recycled glass, and inks on their printed boxes and labels are completely water based and toxin free. With a range of award winning gins highlighting the success of Rifters, they’ve diversified with their latest release - the new Rifters Arrowtown Vodka.

This isn’t just any locally produced spirit, it’s also contributing to a great community cause. Phillip explains that every bottle sold will support local climate and biodiversity projects in the region. “Inspired by the thyme-scented breezes of the region and pristine glacial waters, we’re proud to say each vodka bottle to give back to the land with a portion of sales supporting the Love Queenstown Community Fund,” says Phillip.

To experience the full range, Rifters offers walk in tastings and encourages bookings for its signature Masterclass at Rifters Tasting Room in Arrowtown.