Co-founder and head distiller of Four Pillars Gin, Cameron Mackenzie, has been inducted into the Australian Distillers Hall of Fame. The announcement was made at the Australian Distillers Annual Conference this week.
Four Pillars is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, having been founded by Mackenzie, Stuart Gregor, and Matt Jones. Gregor was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.
“Being the seventh inductee to the AD Hall of Fame is truly an honour. Of course, Stuart had to beat me in as inductee number six last year” Mackenzie said.
The accolades have been many for the gin brand and Mackenzie. Last year he became only the second Australian to be inducted into the World Gin Awards Gin Hall of Fame, and was named IWSC Master Distiller of the Year.
He has led the brand successfully to being named International Gin Producer of the Year by the IWSC a record-breaking three times (2019, 2020, 2023).
Four Pillars category-defining gins from the original Rare Dry, the cult favourite Bloody Shiraz and
innovations like Olive Leaf Gin. Four Pillars gins have been awarded Best in Category eight times, along with 17 Global Gin Masters, countless Trophies, plus Double Gold and Gold medals at competitions around the world.
Apart from creating award-winning gin, Mackenzie has been the driving force behind Four Pillars becoming one of the most sustainable distilleries in the world and Australia’s first carbon-neutral gin distillery in 2022.
“This really is a testament to how far Four Pillars and Australia’s craft distilling industry has come over the last ten years.
“When we first started out, there were a handful of people making gin in Australia and we were just a few blokes in the back of a winery with a single copper still.
“Now I’m standing in a room alongside hundreds of innovators and leaders in the craft industry… it’s an incredible decade to celebrate,” Mackenzie said.
According to Four Pillars, it is Australia’s highest selling local gin brand, accounting for around 40 per cent of all Australian gin produced. It is now sold in 36 markets across the globe.
Four Pillars’ home in Healesville, also where Mackenzie lives with his family, is the most visited hospitality destination in regional Victoria with more than 180,000 annual visitors.
In July 2023, Lion acquired the remaining 50 per cent of Four Pillars, having bought the other 50 per cent in 2019.
Australian Distillers is the industry’s peak body that actively campaigns for improvements to the
industry at all levels of Government.
