New distillery a hit

by Nick Rowe
The Thorpdale pub has unveiled an underground distillery.
Owners Jill Jepson and Sean McCarthy have transformed the historic "Thorpy pub" into a destination venue - complete with Victoria's newest craft distillery hidden beneath the floorboards.
The Travellers Rest Hotel in Thorpdale has always been a landmark in Gippsland's potato country. But walk through the front door today, and partners Jill and Sean might invite you downstairs to taste something the region has never seen before: gin, vodka, and limoncello distilled on the premises.
The new underground distillery, which recently opened in what was once a keg storeroom, is the culmination of a dream first conceived when the couple bought a nearby farm in 2016.
"We'd always wanted to try vodka and gin making," Jill said. "Even before we bought the pub we saw all these potatoes lying around the farm. That's when we started thinking about distilling."
The distillery is the latest chapter in a remarkable turnaround story. Sean and Jill bought the Travellers Rest at the start of 2020, settling in September that year - right as Victoria plunged into its harshest COVID restrictions. "Some Saturday nights we served six or seven takeaway meals out the window," Sean remembers. "There were sudden announcements - 'hospitality to close by 1pm'—and we'd rush to open or shut," said Sean.
They found themselves navigating vaccine certificates, capacity limits, and social media vitriol. "It was a pretty tough time."
But they persisted, and in August 2021, a turning point arrived in the form of chef Mitch Banks, formerly executive chef at the Meeniyan and Fish Creek pubs.
"He's been a godsend—passionate, professional, detail-oriented," Jill said. With Mitch came stability, a positive kitchen culture, and the culinary expertise that would later inform the distillery's product development.
Transformation of the basement space is a story in itself. Local craftsman Geoff Peterson built a stunning bar from local timber, creating a rustic and intimate tasting room that feels worlds away from the pub upstairs. Jill and Sean are adding an outdoor drinks area under the deck, which will allow for more regular opening hours beyond the current arrangement of tastings, small functions, and tours.
Currently operating with a 95-litre still, the distillery takes a distinctive approach to craft spirits. Jill began her distilling journey with vodka and limoncello, using top-quality produce such as sugar cane, grains and grapes.
Their first gin is a juniper-infused expression with carefully selected botanicals, developed with input from Mitch, whose palate has proven invaluable in the development process.
Even the packaging tells a story. The vodka bottles, made from recycled glass, are designed to celebrate the building's 1937 heritage.
Jill has begun to explore potato vodka. The challenge in this project is that Thorpdale potatoes have lower starch content than classic Polish varieties used for premium vodka (around 12 to 16 per cent compared to 36 per cent), meaning lower yields and higher costs.
"But it would be a uniquely Thorpdale product," Jill said. "That's worth pursuing."
They're also planning lightly infused vodkas with subtle flavours designed to work with soda - a nod to shifting drinking habits. "People are moving to spirits with soda for lower sugar and calories," Jill said. "We're trying to align with those trends while keeping the quality high."
The Travellers Rest has deep roots in Thorpdale. The Holden-Bantock family owned it for four generations, beginning when Michael Holden first licensed it around 1907-08. The current building is an example of art moderne style architecture, completed in 1937-38.
Tragically, owner John Bantock died in 2017 in a fire that caused extensive damage to the building. The hotel was left in John's will to two loyal employees and their families who oversaw the rebuilding of the fire-ravaged premises before Jill and Sean bought it in 2020.
Taking over such an institution came with expectations. "The first year was, 'John would do this, John would do that,'" Sean recalls of the previous owner, who famously ran the pub for many years in his own way. "There was some pushback—'who's bringing Brunswick here?'—people were saying. But we now feel a bit more integrated."
Integration has meant more than just serving drinks. The pub runs annual fundraisers for different causes: the CFA (raising around $4500), the town hall (about $4000), and this year, raising funds to help keep the swimming pool free for kids.
Visitors to Thorpdale can experience the distillery by asking at the bar. "We'll take you down for a tasting and a chat," Jill said. The venue has hosted everything from 40th birthdays to 80th celebrations in the intimate underground space.
The downstairs bar is available for private bookings, accommodating up to 30 people for Friday and Saturday night events.
The pub also has an accommodation offering with five bedrooms available on the top floor. Along with quality pub dining and the new distillery offering, the Travellers Rest is carving out a bit of a niche on the Gippsland pub scene.
"We aren't too far from Melbourne and Thorpdale is a scenic stop on the way to many places, so we hope we can continue to gain a following," Sean said.