“I think it’s part of the charm,” says cellar door manager Tess Hill of Nosferatu’s distiller-first character. That said, the purposeful juxtaposition of cellar door and distillery creates an engaging setting for guests to sit and watch the distillation process in action just a few meters away. Hanging garden beds, fairy lights, upcycled furnishings and a feature wall coated in vintage A-frame ladders soften the space, while the bar itself (housed in a converted Spitfire vintage caravan) is an attention-grabbing centrepiece. After adding insulation in for cooling, black awnings on the western wall to keep heat off the glass, Rory and his team set about making the space inviting for the general public. The footprint of this spacious warehouse has been thoughtfully divvied up to house not only the team’s distillery set-up (anchored by a German-style 350-litre copper column still called The Schreck in honour of Nosferatu‘s leading man), bottling facilities and distribution centre, but also a bar and cafe. Safe to say he nailed the attempt – four years on and Nosferatu has found a cult following amongst Australian drinkers, going on to build up a killer portfolio of film- and folklore-inspired spirits and, as of a month ago, establish a bricks-and-mortar headquarters of its own in the back streets of Bowen Hills. When Nosferatu’s Rory Smith (who in a previous life worked in film) started the business in Melbourne, he wanted to make a gin that would pair perfectly with Campari and Pimm’s. It was a hit – the combination of Albanian juniper berries, blood orange peel, fresh navel oranges, roasted fenugreek and wormwood (among numerous other botanicals) created a sip that was fruit-forward with a bitter tail, ideal for elevating a negroni from ordinary to outstanding.

Nosferatu Distillery emerged in 2018 with its Blood Orange Gin – a red-hued spirit bottled and branded with a striking (and eventually award-winning) label that depicted the gaunt silhouette of actor Max Schreck’s Count Orlok. While its gothic-style aesthetic influenced numerous subsequent entries into the vampire film genre, the benchmark flick would also go on to have a profound impact on Australia’s gin scene almost a century after its release.

Thank you for taking care of your customers.The 1922 German Expressionist horror film Nosferatu is heralded by many film buffs as an influential work in the era of silent cinema. Would could have been potentially been a very frustrating let down was handled beautifully, didn't mind the extra wait time at all. Drinks were great, so many options! And by the time we got through with the tour (we had several sips en route) I was feeling pretty happy. He said a guide would be coming along shortly to give us the tour and in the mean time we could wait at the bar and have a round of drinks on the house. The manager came over to us and apologized that there was some sort of miscommunication between the scheduler and the tour guides, and they thought they were done for the day. He went to the back and after a few minutes came back with my phone, letting us know the manager will be with us and have a seat at the bar. Perplexed he asked if he could show my phone to the manager (I didn't really feel comfortable but passed it over). We were on vacation and had booked a private tour in the late afternoon, when we got there we told the guy at the door we were there for a tour, he stated that there weren't any tours scheduled for that afternoon, I showed him my confirmation e-mail for that time and date.

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