Sacha La Forgia founded Adelaide Hills Distillery in 2014 after travelling the world for over 6 years, working overseas vintages and exploring the world of distilling. On his travels throughout Italy he met his mentor, 'The Italian', who encouraged him to return to Australia and start his own distillery.
Hand crafting a copper still from the ground up, Sacha is passionate about crafting spirits using Australian produce and values quality above all else.
In 2015, Sacha launched his first product: 78 Degrees Gin. 78 Degrees Gin is a London Dry style gin sourced using many native Australian ingredients, some from their own backyard in the Adelaide Hills. This award winning Gin quickly earned him a reputation for producing exceptional small batch spirits.
In 2016, Adelaide Hills Distillery teamed up with Steve Dorman and Toby Kline of The Hills Cider Company, uniting two locally minded liquor companies and helping to drive the distillery forward. Together, they've most recently picked up a Bronze Award for Best International Contemporary Gin at the World Gin Awards, 2019 and a Gold Award for their 78 Degrees Gin as well as a Bronze and Silver for their 78 Degrees Sunset Gin at the World Spirits Competition, 2019.
They’ve previously won Best in Class at the American Distilling Institute Awards, 2017 with their 78 Degrees Gin and have collected many other accolades along their journey.
LOT. 100
In December 2018, 78 Degrees Distillery moved into its new shared home. The Lot. 100 site is home to the state of the art distillery and restaurant, with ample space to grow and utilise the land around it.
Lot. 100, the 84 hectare property nestled in the Adelaide Hills has been slowly and thoughtfully transformed into the new production site of Mismatch Brewing and Adelaide Hills Distillery, coupled with an authentic Adelaide Hills beverage experience they present together with The Hills Cider Company, Ashton Valley Fresh and Vinteloper. This is all complemented with an onsite restaurant plus event and function facilities.
A collaborative destination featuring the juxtaposition of industrial vs agricultural is at every turn. From the design impact of the feature building, developed by the team at Frame Creative, to the working fruit orchards of the adjacent R Ceravolo and Co property, this unique setting feels like an escape from city and suburban life, despite being a short 25 minute drive from South Australia’s major metropolis of Adelaide.
Methodology
Virtually unique in Australia, Adelaide Hills Distillery use their own custom-built copper still. With 100% vapour infusion, they have their gin basket after the column which ensures extraction of the botanicals via the purest vapours and lower temperatures to retain delicate, fresh aromas. Each botanical is distilled individually and then blended including many native Australian ingredients.