Distillery 031 in Durban

There’s a new guy in town and his name is Absinthe…
He’s got some cool friends too – Vodka and Gin and they all hang out at new venue – Distillery 031.

No seriously, this amazing new venue in the Station Drive Precinct took me totally by surprise when I attended the media launch a couple of weeks ago, so I threw my birthday party there at the last minute and it was a roaring success. {Fire-dragon-breathing-absinthe-roaring-success}
Never mind the specially distilled artisanal beverages – 031 Gin, Vodka, Rum and Absinthe, distiller Andrew Rall has also added his own all-natural tonic and a lemonade to the mix and I happily downed a few vodka lemonades last week, like they were juice – that good!

Andrew has quietly been tinkering on this project for a good few years, initially experimenting in his back garden and then eventually to the premises at 43 Station Drive, on the 2nd floor of The Foundry, where it’s now open to the public for private functions and tours.
This is not some moonshine operation though – the distillery itself takes up one half of the venue and includes some pretty impressive equipment, which allows him to distill right here in Durbs, to produce this new range of artisanal & independent, limited-edition spirits.

Obviously I love that this is a Durban-fuelled operation, but it’s a huge bonus that the venue is cool – think high ceilings, polished concrete, large industrial windows, a cocktail bar and a view over the train tracks and towards the stadium AND it’s now the permanent home to Funny Bunny – Durban’s best burgers hands down! I first discovered these babies at I Heart Market and so began my days of stalking them down wherever they were being served. Their pineapple & bacon jam beef sliders are life changing and if you ever catch me with the juices running down to my elbows, I won’t even try to hide it.

So, if you’re in need of (a) a venue to host a private function, (b) a meeting with a beef & oxtail patty topped with pineapple bacon jam on a kitke bun, or (c) are just curious about the distillery and would like to take a tour – head over to the Distillery 031 facebook page and give them a like for details on what’s potting down there and when.

I can tell you that it will be open to the public this Saturday night – 21st November, for Funny Bunny’s 1st Birthday Bash and they’ve also started doing Sunday Sessions where you can catch some live music, hang out at the bar and eat burgers (there’s other stuff on the menu but I can’t seem to tear myself away from the burgers).

Another win for the Station Drive Precinct and for Durban – nice one guys!
Now go support local people.