Award-Winning Craft, Validated by Experts and Guests
Small-batch spirits from our Bay of Plenty distillery earn recognition at New Zealand's most prestigious spirits competition—and create memorable experiences for hundreds of guests.
Recognition from
New Zealand Spirits Awards
Our commitment to quality over quantity has earned recognition where it matters most — at the New Zealand Spirits Awards, where 22 independent judges evaluate hundreds of entries from distilleries across the country. These aren't self-awarded badges; they're independent validation that our garden-to-glass approach produces spirits that compete with the best in New Zealand.
2025 Awards (Most Recent)
Gold Medal Summer Garden Gin
A celebration of warm-weather botanicals from our permaculture garden.
Silver Medal Winter Garden Gin
Rich, warming botanicals reflecting the cooler seasons.
Bronze Medal Spiced Plum Liqueur
Crafted from Bay of Plenty plums at peak ripeness.
2024 Awards
Trophy (Best New Zealand Botanical Spirit) Fennel Liqueur
The highest honour in the botanical category—our fennel liqueur beat every other botanical spirit in New Zealand to earn this trophy.
Double Gold Medal Grapefruitcello
One of only 40 double gold medals awarded from 451 entries—a rare distinction for exceptional spirits. Made from New Zealand red grapefruit picked at peak ripeness to maximise aromatic oil content.
Gold Medal Fennel Liqueur
In addition to the trophy, this after-dinner digestivo earned gold in its category. Crafted from fennel leaves and seeds grown in the Bay of Plenty, with an aroma evoking traditional black licorice and an intense anise flavour mellowed to perfect sweetness.
Silver Medal Adventurers Gin
Our flagship gin earning silver recognition.
Bronze Medal Berry Adventurers Gin
Botanical complexity meets summer berries.
Bronze Medal Limoncello
Italian-style liqueur with New Zealand citrus character.
These awards validate what we've always believed: small-batch methods and fresh, locally-grown botanicals create spirits with exceptional flavour. When you join us for a Gin Lab Experience, you're learning the same methods that created these award-winning spirits.
Featured in Local and National Media
NZ Herald Feature (August 2024)
Following our 2024 award wins, the NZ Herald featured Matahui Distillery's achievement in earning a trophy and double gold—recognition of our garden-to-glass philosophy and the abundance of the Bay of Plenty region.
SunLive Coverage (August 2024)
"The winning spirits are a true representation of the abundance of produce we have at our fingertips in the Bay of Plenty," Paul shared with SunLive following our award success. "There is seemingly no end to what you can grow here and we love making a product that really feels like it is part of this amazing area we live in."
What Our Guests Say
We loved visiting Matahui Distillery and making our very own botanical gin. The masterclass was a lot of fun and very educational at the same time. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves gin!
Such a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. Paul and his team are so knowledgable and I will definitely appreciate every glass I drink and the flavours so much more now. Was great to try their gins and liqueurs (which were delicious). And love our bottle we distilled! 100% recommend this experience to anyone who likes gin!
Really lovely experience, super knowledgeable team! We went to the make your own gin experience and would highly recommend! Got to try a wide rage of liqueurs and gins whilst making our own bottle of gin with handpicked botanicals to take home 😊 Really good value for money and a lovely family run business 😊
This experience goes well beyond providing superb knowledge huge passion and amazing gin tasting and creation opportunity. Paul and his team made our experience very special and even provided immediate delivery service for our purchases. Highly recommended.
I'd give this more than 5 stars if I could! One of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever done. The Matahui team were just so fantastic and knowledgeable. I would definitely do this again, so thank you for an amazing couple of hours.
Trusted by Thousands of Guests
Since opening, we've welcomed thousands of guests to our Gin Lab experiences and distillery tours. You'll find us with 5-star ratings on TripAdvisor and Google, where our intimate group sizes, knowledgeable teaching, and quality results speak for themselves.
We keep groups small (maximum 8-12 guests) because quality matters more than quantity—in our spirits and in your experience.
Experience Award-Winning Methods Yourself
The same small-batch approach that earned these awards is what we teach in every Gin Lab Experience. You'll taste individual botanicals from our Flavour Library, learn how gin is made professionally, and create a custom gin using the same techniques we use to produce medal-winning spirits.