Riverina Gin bringing people together and creating an experience

Riverina Gin is a small, family-owned distillery in Borambola, NSW, and founded on the promise to make great gin, bring people together and create exceptional experiences for rural communities.

Jake and Tessa Eaglesham opened their distillery to the public in February after conceiving the idea in the Scottish Highlands. 

Tessa, a human resources manager, was raised on an eastern Riverina farm while Jake is from a small village in the Scottish Highlands where his parents run a pub. 

He received a scholarship at 16 to Edinburgh to play rugby before leaving school to work on the oil rigs in the North Sea followed by playing rugby in Germany, Spain and finally joining the Wagga Waratahs 10 years ago.

Jake went on to play in New Zealand, England and Scotland, moving back to the Waratahs in 2018 to play in their premiership side.

“When we were in Scotland, we noticed a lot of gin distilleries popping up in the traditional whiskey country of the highlands – we spent a lot of time travelling round to visit these distilleries off the beaten tracks on farms,” he said. 

“We loved hearing their stories and trying their products.”

The covid lock-down gave Jake the time to spend on mapping out a business plan for a distillery, seeking advice from business mentors, and finding the ideal location.

Borambola Wines offered a shed and the couple opened their Riverina Gin distillery in February 2023.

The cellar door closed over winter to concentrate on production and develop new products in time for reopening in summer. 

The gin is handmade in a copper still using a traditional one-shot distillation method. 

The signature blend, Riverina Gin, uses local and traditional botanicals to produce a refreshing gin inspired by the region. 

Fresh, organic Washington navel and Valencia oranges are sourced from Leeton and Griffith – only the best go in the gin with the rest dried and used for garnish.

“Riverina Gin is wrapped up in brown paper and tied with twine. Our unique packaging is a humble reminder to support the little guy,” Jake said.

“I remember at a young age going shopping with my grannie in Scotland and her basket would be full with produce wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. I wanted to include that in the packaging to give it a handmade feel.”

The exclusive Riverina Gin Club is capped at 200 members who receive two free bottles of Riverina Gin, and an invitation to the Club’s exclusive annual shindig, cocktail evenings and tastings. 

“The Riverina Gin Club is our way to build our own community and give something back to the good folk that support us,” Jake said. 

Riverina Gin has attended farmers markets at Canberra, Coleambally, Leeton, Yanco, Tumbarumba, Holbrook, Gundagai, Tumut, Wagga Wagga, and took bronze at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in the commercial exhibitor awards.

Riverina Gin attended the Henty Machinery Field Days for the first time in 2022 and this year Jake will make some delicious gin-based cocktails in the demonstration kitchen at the Farm Gate Produce Market. 

“Farmers markets and field days are good for us – we don’t judge the success of these events by the amount of bottles we hand over. We are a new distillery so often it is just about meeting the maker,” Jake said.

He will also display his 1979 Landrover Defender tray-back, a vehicle favoured by the late Queen and the Royal Family at Balmoral, at the Farm Gate Market pavilion.