Penni Ave Distillery: Meet the maker doing vodka differently on the Mornington Peninsula

The push she needed

When her role was restructured out of existence, Genevieve was offered a choice: take a new position elsewhere, or take the package. She took the package. A bar-distillery idea she'd been quietly turning over suddenly had a start date.

"I had already started dreaming up ideas of running a bar or distillery, so this was the perfect push for me to invest in my own project."

She is, at heart, a whisky person - the kind who sought out distilleries whenever she travelled and "unashamedly bothered them with a million questions." The original plan had whisky going into barrels and native botanical vodka covering the gap while it aged. Gin never really came into it. The market was already saturated and she wasn't interested in adding to the noise.

Then the vodka took off, and here we are.

The spirit that took over

What Penni Ave makes sits in genuinely exciting territory. The vodkas are flavour-distilled using native Australian ingredients - lemon myrtle, kakadu plum, pepperberry, sea celery, saltbush, wattleseed - taking them well beyond neutral, but without the botanical character to qualify as gin. "It's a bit of a stray segment to be in but I like it."

The native ingredients aren't just a flavour choice. Genevieve buys exclusively from Australian bush food producers and talks about it with genuine conviction. "I am really loving supporting the local bush food industry by purchasing only natives. They're so underrated locally and deserve more attention internationally. The flavours are so unique and captivating. Not to mention way more sustainable to grow given they aren't an introduced species."

Each botanical gets treated on its own terms. Lemon myrtle is pushed forward, heavy enough to cut through any cocktail. Sea celery and saltbush are handled with restraint in the 16th Beach Vodka, adding dry coastal salinity without announcing themselves. Pepperberry is the most exciting of the range: one season it tastes like liquorice, the next like something softer and more floral. "We experiment a bit with each batch and let the season decide most of the outcome. We try not to meddle too much."

The barrel releases grew from the same spirit of curiosity. A cask exchange with a local brewery turned up one barrel that their distiller Mitch Grenfell thought would work beautifully with honey. The resulting wattleseed and burnt honey vodka sold out fast, so a second batch is coming. An ex-Pinot cask-aged strawberry gum release followed. "It's just a lot of fun trying new things really."

More than a distillery

The space was always meant to be a place people wanted to spend time, as much as a production facility. Coffee in the morning, spirits later, events whenever someone books one. "It's a space for mums to get coffee and vent to the baristas about the five minutes of sleep they got, for cycling groups, book clubs and wine. Local election strategy meetings, singers testing out new songs at open mic night, poetry, craft stalls and not to mention the good old hens party."

The bottle shop carries local wines, coffee and beer alongside the vodka - a deliberate choice for a venue that draws visitors from across the state. "I think if people are travelling all the way here they should experience the local goods."

For a first visit, Genevieve's recommendation is the 16th Beach Sea Celery & Salt Bush Vodka, as a martini.

Website: www.penniave.com.au

Address: 43 Peninsula Ave, Rye VIC 3941