2022 was the year that we navigated our way through a changed world after the previous years were plagued by Covid-19. It was the year of taking on new opportunities, rebuilding our team and jumping back into life without a face mask and finally being able to hug our mates. Here are the team's highlights of the year and a big bottoms up to the year that was.
1. Women of Australian Distilling
Our new Women of Australian Distilling website was launched, fittingly, on International Women's Day this year. A place to promote, encourage and support women and those who identify as women within the Australian distilling industry. It is also a hub for female-led trade and consumer events, courses, networking, PR, mentoring, and personal development.
We held a number of events throughout the year including the YCK Laneways Front & Centre event which took place in late August. Women of Australian Distilling was able to rally 8 women from various parts of Australia to lead masterclasses over one weekend, with the help of the spirits that they represent. The spirits were provided by us here at Nip of Courage and we were all so ecstatic to watch and listen to these women talk so passionately about the Aussie spirits that they love so much.
In very exciting news, the advisory board for Women of Australian Distilling was also formed, with the first official board meeting to take place in early 2023.
2. New Team Members: Zandria & Keeley
Zandria (right) and Keeley (left) joined the team this year with Zandy in the Operations Executive role and Keeley as the Marketing & Communications assistant.
I won't lie, I (Keeley) am writing this post right now and I just want to say that this industry is possibly the coolest one to work in and I've loved getting to meet so many extraordinary people in the 6 months that I've been here.
3. New HQ
We moved into a new warehouse during the crazy rush of December. An opportunity to not only work out of a larger space, but a new motivating factor to keep inspiring the legends in the Aussie spirits world. We're itching for the new year so that we can officially start work as normal in our new digs! Watch this space.
4. Sampling Program
We introduced a sampling program mid-year to help our suppliers get their spirits into the hands of consumers and trade nationally. We design the labels in-house and pour all of the samples which then get sent out with just about every order. The idea that started the sampling program was that Aussie spirits have some of the most unique and interesting flavours, yet consumers aren't willing to purchase a full bottle of something that they have never tried. We wanted to give consumers a taste and show them just how beautiful the flavour of Aussie can be.
5. Supplier Review Scorecards
During November we began trials for a supplier review scorecard in which suppliers score themselves and then we go through the same process of assessing them to then compare results. The goal is to help Aussie distillers reach their full potential through mentoring and providing helpful suggestions from a team that works with almost 200 distilleries and understands what works and what doesn't in the industry.
6. Social Media Takeover
You may have looked at our social media this year and thought, "have they gone bonkers?" and well, we agree. We love making everyone smile and we know that you just love watching us dance around the warehouse with some music that we don't realise the real meaning of until it's posted and a filter that makes it look like we just got some pretty hectic botox. Let's be real though, the only reason we film TikToks is because Kath is living out her dreams of having a music career and we're just the backup dancers along for the ride. We want to say a big thank you to everyone that has applauded our social media work because geez, listening to Kath edit the video on full blast for many minutes afterwards is almost worth it.
7. Jimmy and Chrissy hit 100 posts!!
A big thank you and congratulations to Jimmy & Chrissy our guest writers from "Mr & Mrs Romance' for hitting 100 posts with Nip of Courage! We love having these guys on board and drum roll please ... they will be back in 2023! We just couldn't get enough of hearing from them every week!
8. 1992 Vol.2
We launched our second installment of the '1992' mini magazine with Kalyn Fletcher from Hoochery Distillery on the front cover. If you haven't heard about 1992, it features a range of stories on some of the pretty cool people in the Aussie spirits scene. It also features our portfolio, some spirits of choice and some notes from the team. Volume 3 will be coming out in early 2023!
The team had the opportunity to run and work with a multitude of distillers through trade masterclasses this year. It's always good to hear from the extraordinary people behind the spirits that we sell and love so much. It helps us to not only understand the stories behind the spirits but to be able to explain to our customers just why Aussie spirits are so special.
We love learning from some of the best in the game and being able to continuously expand our knowledge about the industry. It's always a heck of a good experience and we can't wait to continue doing more important things like this in 2023!
10. International Women's Day 2022 | Bloodwood Newtown
Thank you to everyone who was involved in making this event such a success for the third year in a row! Diversity is important to all industries. We hope that this annual event will inspire people to support the small number of women involved in the Australian distilling movement.
We heard from some amazing female pioneers helping to shape the Australian craft distilling industry. We enjoyed a 'cocktail degustation'. Bloodwood's Claire Van Vuuren and her team Sarina Fang, Deanne Paramaxidis and Jessica created a menu that was bold, packed with flavour inspired by the spirits and cocktails provided on the day. Stay tuned for this amazing event in 2023, tickets will go on sale soon.
11. Proud sponsor of the 2022 Australian Distillers Association Conference
In April this year we proudly sponsored the Australian Distillers Association annual conference held in Melbourne. This year’s conference was the biggest in its history with over 430 folk from the industry attending.
So, 2022, we bid you farewell and we can't wait for the adventures that 2023 will bring!
- Keeley
A special message from Kathleen Davies | Founder of Nip of Courage
"We believe that the sky is the limit for our humble business in 2023. We are not your average wholesaler or online retailer, we pride ourselves on being advocates for the industry. We genuinely care about developing the local craft spirits industry to grow market share. Our new wholesaler model 'NOC Wholesale' has allowed us to help a lot of smaller start-up producers who weren’t able to get listed with larger wholesalers during the global pandemic. We proudly work in partnership with Australia’s leading distributors and the most exciting emerging spirit brands from all corners of the country. We are now the largest one stop shop for Australian craft spirits. 2023 is a very exciting year for our business as it will mark our 10 year birthday and we look forward to celebrating this milestone. Thank you to our valued customers and supporters and most of all thank you to my wonderful team for their passion and contribution throughout 2022! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year."
- Kathleen
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