THE FOUR PILLARS GIN SUCCESS STORY
Co-founder Cameron Mackenzie, pens a note on what took them from a small craft distillery to becoming the first-ever gin maker tow in World's Leading Gin Producer three times.
Cameron Mackenzie, Co-founder and Head Distiller of Four Pillars Gin
IN HINDSIGHT, FOUR PILLARS WAS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER.
Good mates pooling funds and taking investments from friends and family to start a distillery and make a spirit that was largely out of fashion…genius idea!
What could possibly go wrong?
Having said that, we did have some things in our favour. The three of us (myself, Stu and Matt) had distinct skill sets that positioned us to have at least half a chance. My background started in wine production but moved into winery management and commercial roles. Stu Gregor also had a wine background and had built a public relations business that specialised in food, booze, hospitality, tourism and more. And Matt Jones had built a career in brand and strategy, setting the language of brands and businesses.
In short, I made gin, Stu made noise, and Matt made sense. The growth and success of Four Pillars is largely due to having those three skill sets in place before we had even started.
So my first piece of advice is simple - surround yourself with great people.
People who are good at the things you can’t do, and more importantly, people who are better at the things you can do. I made the first few years' worth of gin, but our current distilling team run circles around me. This frees up my time to advocate for the distillery but also to think clearly about new flavour profiles and ultimately new gins.
Thankfully we can take our time to create these new gins.
For example, we spent 18 months working on Rare Dry Gin before we released it. Since then, we haven’t changed a thing about the recipe. It has won most major accolades in some of the best spirit shows around the world. It wasn’t London Dry, but it still stayed within the boundaries of gin.
For us, it was also important to set the language, presentation and focus of the distillery.
To start with, we just make gin. We felt the spirits category had plenty of room for innovation, so we didn’t feel the need to make whiskey or rum or anything else.
We stayed in our lane and innovated successfully within the category.
Matt has always been ruthless with the curation of our brand and identity - we are makers, not marketers, but we have a licence to market brilliantly and present the gin beautifully.
Of course, none of this makes any difference if no one knows about it. The investment we made in distribution and communications has been our smartest move.
Whilst I flippantly say, “Stu makes noise” I should really say, “Stu made us famous.” His ability to communicate with trade, consumers and media has been critical to our success.
He knows every bartender, chef and journalist, and is thegreatest showman I have ever seen. He was quick to remind me that we make an ingredient, so whilst we are writing a story, the actor is actually the bartender, and we need to work with them and celebrate the art of cocktail making.
That connection has been so important.
There is so much more I have learned along the way. Four Pillars is the business we always wanted to run – generous, hospitable, silly, humorous, stressful and with a brilliant team of people we want to work with every day.
HOPE TO SEE YOU FOR A G&T SOON.
Images Courtesy: Four Pillars Gin
