Our Story
Headlands Distilling Co. started from humble beginnings. It was early 2015, and with nothing more than a collective goal to produce handcrafted spirits, four friends founded Wollongong’s first distillery. Despite numerous setbacks and unforeseen hurdles, the combination of scientific precision, engineering practicality and business perseverance prevailed. Initially we produced spirit for our whisky, as we knew it would be a long wait before it was ready. After barreling this spirit in 2016, a year later, we set to work on creating delicious Seacliff Vodka and a range of gins and specialty products.
The journey begins in the Riverina region of NSW, where our relationships with individual farmers allow us to trace the origin of our starting ingredients to the very paddock where they are grown. Freshly harvested grains are picked up directly from the farm and brought to the distillery in Wollongong. From these high quality Australian grains, we handcraft pristine alcoholic spirits.
We bring our fresh, can-do attitude into all aspects of the business. Our Seacliff Vodka represents the starting point, but Headlands is growing into a vibrant, forward-thinking company that creates an exceptional range of spirits from high quality Australian produce. 2019 saw the release of three new products which were also years in the making. Spirit of the Illawarra Plum- 9 months barrel aged. Boobialla gin, made exclusively from Australian native juniper and Daalgaal, gin steeped in Illawarra Plums for 6+ months.
2020 saw the release of our first Single Malt Whisky. Finished in casks which were seasoned with Seppeltsfield Rare Rich Apera and Rare Muscat. You will soon see the release of the world’s first Illawarra Plum cask whisky, aged in ex- Spirit of the Illawarra Plum barrels!
Grain to glass
The Grain to Glass philosophy is core to Headlands’ products, every step of the production process is done from scratch, from milling the grain, mashing, fermentation, distilling, filtering, bottling and labeling. It demonstrates our passion for ensuring purity at every stage of production. We start with the highest quality ingredients and pair them with our relentless pursuit of perfection. There is no room for compromise.
The locally grown barley is brought fresh from the paddock, directly to the distillery in Wollongong where we mill, ferment, distill and bottle our handcrafted spirits. We have complete oversight of a grain from the time it goes into the ground to the time it goes into a glass.
To showcase the craftsmanship needed to produce high quality spirits, we welcome visitors to the distillery and offer tours to illustrate the Grain to Glass way. Come along from 4pm – 6pm on Friday or 12pm – 4pm on Sunday (or get in touch to organise a time that suits you better) for a tour.
Grain to Glass
The Grain to Glass philosophy is core to Headlands’ products, every step of the production process is done from scratch, from milling the grain, mashing, fermentation, distilling, filtering, bottling and labeling. It demonstrates our passion for ensuring purity at every stage of production. We start with the highest quality ingredients and pair them with our relentless pursuit of perfection. There is no room for compromise.
The locally grown barley is brought fresh from the paddock, directly to the distillery in Wollongong where we mill, ferment, distill and bottle our handcrafted spirits. We have complete oversight of a grain from the time it goes into the ground to the time it goes into a glass.
To showcase the craftsmanship needed to produce high quality spirits, we welcome visitors to the distillery and offer tours to illustrate the Grain to Glass way. Come along from 4pm – 6pm on Friday or 12pm – 4pm on Sunday (or get in touch to organise a time that suits you better) for a tour.
