Billy Stitch Heads North for Top End Gin Fest
On Saturday May 30th, the Billy Stitch team packed the bottles, loaded up the garnish and headed north for Top End Gin Fest in Darwin , and honestly, what an awesome day.
Held at the Darwin Ski Club, the festival brought together gin distilleries from all over Australia for five solid hours of free gin tastings, live music and tropical chaos. From the second the gates opened, the crowd was buzzing. Multiple stages were pumping music across the venue while thousands of people wandered the waterfront sipping gin in the Darwin sunshine.
The Darwin Ski Club was the perfect backdrop for it all. Palm trees, ocean views, warm weather and those ridiculous Top End sunsets made it feel less like a festival and more like a giant tropical party where everybody just happened to be holding gin.
There was live mural art happening throughout the day, glitter artists covering people head to toe in sparkle, and a VIP area complete with floaties and a pool for guests wanting to cool off between tastings. Honestly, whoever invented poolside gin festivals deserves a raise.
Over at the Billy Stitch stand, things were flat out all afternoon. Our biggest crowd favourite? Galaxy Pink Gin mixed with Fever-Tree Yuzu Soda. Fruity, sparkly and dangerously easy to drink in the Darwin heat, it quickly became the unofficial drink of people chasing fun in a cup.
Berry Mojito Gin served with Mediterranean Tonic was another massive hit, with people coming back for seconds thanks to its fresh minty finish and juicy berry flavours. Safe to say the Billy Stitch bar team barely stopped pouring all day.
Meanwhile, over at the festival GIN Bar, our Tuckshop Gin was proudly being served with grapefruit tonic, the perfect fresh, savoury combo for a humid Darwin afternoon. Seeing people kicking back by the water with Billy Stitch cocktails in hand was definitely one of those “this is pretty cool” moments for the team.
Then came the headline act.
As the sun started dropping across the water, Missy Higgins took to the stage and the crowd absolutely adored her. Thousands of people singing along under a glowing Darwin sunset with gin in hand? It honestly felt a little magical.
For Billy Stitch, events like Top End Gin Fest are exactly why we love what we do. Travelling around Australia, meeting gin lovers face-to-face and watching people discover our spirits for the first time never gets old.
The team had the absolute best day chatting with festival goers, pouring tastings and soaking up the atmosphere. We laughed, danced a little behind the stand and probably sweated out our body weight in Darwin humidity , but it was worth every second.
To everyone who stopped by for a tasting, grabbed a bottle or shared a drink with us throughout the day, thank you for making the festival such a ripper.
Darwin, we already can’t wait to come back.
SHOP THE TOP END GIN FEST FAVOURITES HERE!
PHOTOGRAPHS BY @rachelrachelphotography and @darwin_rexyu_photography
