Shady walkways connect the buildings that makeup Gorman House Arts Centre. Photo: Maryann Mussared.
Historic Gorman House, a dynamic hub for Canberra’s creative community, celebrated its centenary this year. From its origins as an affordable hostel for young public servants in the 1920s, it has grown to become a meeting place and melting pot of the arts and community.
To commemorate this significant milestone, Gorman House collaborated with award-winning distillery Underground Spirits Australia to create a bespoke gin using hawthorn berries from their beloved courtyard trees, Sofia and Manolo.
The result is Gorman House 100 Years Hawthorn Gin.
Gorman House Hundred Years Hawthorn Gin. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
“Gorman House is a living symbol of Canberra’s cultural evolution,” Underground Spirits CEO Claudia Roughley said.
“We’ve distilled 100 years of history and community into a gin that tells the story of resilience and beauty, one sip at a time.”
Rebecca Worth, Gorman House’s Digital Storyteller, added: “Gorman House has lived many lives, each adding to its unique story. Our partnership with Underground Spirits has created something to savour – a keepsake capturing a century of memories.”
The gin’s label features a stunning design by one of Gorman’s resident artists, Paul Summerfield, known and awarded for his distinctive, multilayered digital artworks. The design showcases Sofia’s magnificence, her red-berried, wide-spreading branches that house possums and birds and bring shade to the courtyard.
Resident artist Paul Summerfield next to his single edition framed canvas of the gin label’s artwork. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
Late last week, Gorman House hosted a fundraiser overflowing with cocktails showcasing its signature gin. The scarlet cocktail was sweet, bright and refreshing, tempered with lip-smacking tartness from the hawthorn berries.
Claudia told us, “Back at the distillery, history is something that Stewart, our distiller, and I love to create with. Berries were picked when they were bright red and secret scavenging of the atlas cedar trees and neighbourhood callistemon leaves may have also happened. Stewart has made the gin exactly what it needed to be – liquid history.”
Another evening highlight was the auction, a riveting experience, with Real Estate Institute of ACT Novice Auctioneer of the Year Bri Williams at the helm.
The star of the show, Sofia – the hawthorn tree. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
First to go under the hammer was Paul Summerfield’s single edition framed canvas of the gin label’s artwork, plus a signed bottle of gin and a sapling taken from one of the heritage hawthorn trees. Following a dynamic and robust back and forth, this package sold for $1300.
A second package – exclusive gin tasting and tour of the Underground Distillery for six with a signed bottle of gin and a sapling, and a third package featuring a signed bottle of gin, Gorman Gin recipe cards and a heritage Hawthorn sapling also sold under Bri’s quick-witted enthusiastic expertise.
It was a fantastic evening, and we look forward to the next decade of Gorman House and its contribution to the arts.
Purchase your very own celebratory bottle of Gorman House 100 Years Hawthorn Gin from Underground Spirits.
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