Visitors to the Snowy Mountains rarely need extra encouragement to visit wildbrumby distillery in the Thredbo Valley, but this Easter there is even more reason to partake in an extra festive schnapps, with wildbrumby celebrating their 20th anniversary.
And to help proceedings along and to enjoy the festivities even more, on Easter Friday the popular local band The Hip Replacements will be playing at wildbrumby from 1.00pm to 4.00pm. Bring your blanket and chairs and relax on the lawns.
In 2003, wildbrumby founders Brad and Monika Spalding set out to create a haven for distilling and arts in the Snowy Mountains and transformed the landscape with their hugely popular venue. Here is a snapshot of their 20 years including images.
As one of the original distilleries in Australia, specialising initially in schnapps, and now their award-winning gin and vodka, wildbrumby has evolved into much more than just a distillery. It is a Snowy Mountains destination in its own right.
Visitors have continually frequented their establishment over the course of their 20 years, to a point where for many winter and summer travellers, it is a near mandatory stop to sample their Austrian fare and a few sneaky beverages at the distillery café. There are not too many venues where you dine alongside the still, which has become a feature of wildbrumby.
"Twenty years ago, we had a vision to create a distillery that would produce world-class spirits using the purest water from the Snowy Mountains," said Brad Spalding.
"Today, we are proud to have established a distillery that is not only recognised in Australia but also globally, winning numerous awards across our unique product range.”
At a recent distillery masterclass at the Savour the Snowy Mountains event, Brad enlightened the participants with a brief history of wildbrumby, saying wife Monika initially did not want butterscotch schnapps as it was not traditional in Austria.
“Monika said let’s just distil and not have food,” Brad recited.
“Goulash changed all that,” he said, and they now have a full Austrian themed menu that along with the schnapps, gin and vodka been an essential element in their overall success.
While their original distillations were well received, Brad says that the secret to his current success was tailoring his recipes to suit the Australian palate, which meant lighter, fruitier varieties based on seasonal produce.
“While our premium schnapps varieties retain a strong following, we have seen the popularity of our liqueur-style schnapps varieties really take off over the years. A particular favourite is our baked apple schnapps that is only available during the winter months.”
The wildbrumby schnapps have become increasingly more popular in creating cocktails, with numerous recipes available via their social media and website for cocktail aficionados.
“We see so many familiar faces return every year and each and every one of them has their favourite variety of schnapps. And while there is that strong association with winter, we do find that many of our customers will stock up on their favourite varieties of schnapps to take back home with them.”
Over the past two decades the distillery has become a staple of the Australian spirits scene, winning numerous awards for unique and delicious products. In 2020 they also were part of the world record gin tasting where venues across Australia all tasted gin at the same time. Tickets were snapped up for this event, such is the overall popularity of the venue, the product, plus the great hospitality that owners Monika and Brad have bestowed on their customers for the past two decades.
Wildbrumby is also a regular sponsor of local charities and sporting events, and in 2022 it was named 'Business of the Year' at the 2022 Jindabyne’s Citizen Award Ceremony.
Brad did say that butterscotch made its way onto the list in the early days, along with a wide variety of fruit based schnapps that have become synonymous with the winter snow crowd. Après ski sessions at most venues across the mountains normally involve a wildbrumby schnapps as revellers toast another day of skiing. Their product is well supported and stocked in local venues and retailers.
“Much of our early snow culture was influenced by the Austrian winter staff who worked in the Snowies during their off-season, so it's really no surprise that many Australian skiers now consider schnapps the quintessential mountain spirit," said Brad.
Brad started out making schnapps the traditional way from methods he learned while working as a ski instructor in the Austrian region of Kitzbühel. It was while living in Austria that Brad met his future wife, Monika, whose grandfather had been distilling schnapps long before the couple were born. Prior to creating the wildbrumby venue, Brad was ski school director at Thredbo and instrumental in creating the Thredboland animal mascots.
In 2018 wildbrumby’s flagship product, peach nectar, was a gold medalist at the Australian Distilled Spirits awards, and it was named Apple Schnapps Distillery of the year at the Melbourne International Spirits Competition.
Wildbrumby also produces a popular range of gin featuring locally-sourced botanicals, with each variety striking gold at international spirits competitions in years past.
Brad and Monika are champions of the arts and have embedded their own artistic vision throughout the distillery grounds, where works from various artists are showcased, including those by Brad (aka Spalding), who is an accomplished artist in his own right.
Distillery visitors can stroll through the extensive sculpture garden which offers an immersive art experience that is designed to inspire, delight and provoke as it seamlessly blends with the natural surroundings.
To mark its 20-year milestone, wildbrumby is planning a series of events and activities throughout the year starting on April 7 (Good Friday) with the Hip Replacements playing live music at the distillery from 1.00 – 4.00pm.
"We are excited to celebrate our 20th year anniversary with the community that has supported us throughout the years," said Brad Spalding.
“So come raise a glass for wildbrumby, one of the pioneers of the Australian craft distillery scene, and here's to many more years of delicious schnapps and spirits!”