The next chapter for Rotorua’s Pink & White Geothermal Gin

Business Lifestyle

From a garage dream to an award-winning distillery
In 2018, a trio of mates from Rotorua came together to create something they had never attempted before: a gin distillery. What started as a hobby, quickly – and surprisingly – blossomed into a multi award-winning success story.

The journey has seen a few changes along the way and today the operation is led solely by Kurt Matthews, who has turned their original dream into a refined and innovative business.

When Mitch Collins, who comes from a geothermal background, and Kurt, a master of all trades, were independently wondering how they could build a geothermally powered still, mutual friend Brad Christie heard a common theme among his mates, brought the two together and they got to experimenting in Brad’s garage.

Mitch said it was more of an excuse for the boys to get together and dream a bit.

Moving to Croucher Brewing
Not long after, the guys got a bit more serious about their distilling adventure and started to gradually move production from the garage to an area at Rotorua’s well-known Croucher Brewing property. Kurt was already working for the Crouchers there.

“It just made sense,” Kurt says. “A distillery and a brewery go quite well together. We use a lot of the same equipment and processes.”

The Crouchers mentorship and support were crucial.

“They let us set up shop and have always been there to help out,” Kurt adds.

The dream, however, remains unfulfilled. Despite five years of searching, Pink & White is still on the hunt for a geothermal bore with a suitable location and zoning in Rotorua. Kurt’s ambition is to one day create one of the world’s first directly geothermally heated distilleries.

“It’s a challenge finding somewhere that has a bore that’s hot enough and in an area where we can legally operate,” Kurt explains.

Award-winning success
In 2021, Pink & White took New Zealand’s Spirit Awards by storm, with their White (London Dry) gin earning double gold and their Pink gin securing silver. At the time, with no expectations of accolades, the busy men (all have wives and young children) were looking to scale back but the awards threw them into the limelight, creating new demand and opportunities. They guys decided to try to ramp up production.

The recognition has been both validating and motivating.

At the time, Mitch said, “Now we have the confirmation that Kurt’s recipe IS good in the eyes of some esteemed judges, so we can now be a bit more confident in how we push our brand to bars, restaurants and bottle stores.

“And we’ve got those two gold stickers on the side of the bottle that people will instantly recognise now.”

The next chapter for Pink & White
Today, Pink & White is a one-man operation.

“I’ve bought out Mitch and Brad, but they’re still great supporters of the business,” says Kurt.

While Mitch and Brad continue to focus on their own ventures, Kurt is the heart and soul of Pink & White – making the gin, washing the bottles, applying the labels, and managing the sales and marketing, all while holding down a full-time job and preparing to welcome his second child.

“It’s a juggle,” he admits, “but having the ability to control the quality and process of the gin is what makes it special. I can put more time and effort into each bottle because I’m not forced into mass production. And that’s where the quality comes from, being able to do things slowly and properly.”

It’s clear that there have been no sacrifices in terms of quality as last month, both Kurt’s Pink and White gins took home Double Gold again at the 2024 New Zealand Spirit Awards, and the White gin earned a Gold at the 2024 Australian Gin Awards.

As for what’s next, Kurt has more flavours in the pipeline.

“We just brought out a coffee liqueur under the Rotorua Distilling brand, which won a silver at the Spirit Awards this year. I’m also working on a new gin flavour – keeping it a bit of a secret for now, but it’ll be something pretty unique when it’s ready.”

Despite the challenges and the intense workload, Kurt remains focused on the original goal: to establish a geothermal distillery and expand the Rotorua Distilling range to include rums, whiskeys, and more.

“We’ve still got to sell enough to keep the business running, but the dream is bigger than just the gin. It’s about putting Rotorua on the map for something truly special.”