Our Love Letter to the Ocean
Sea Lovers Gin is our love letter to the incredible ocean that surrounds Aotearoa, New Zealand. Inspired by it, distilled with botanicals from its depths, and committed to preserving its wellbeing.
In this bottle lies a distinctive and delicious contemporary gin that subtly marries marine ingredients with more traditional botanicals, conjuring the essence of the sea into your glass.
From its very inception this project was conceived as a vehicle for marine conservation, leading us to form a partnership with Our Seas, Our Future. To support their conservation initiatives, $5 from every bottle of Sea Lovers Gin sold is donated to Our Seas, Our Future to help them raise awareness and support their admirable causes.
Great care has been taken not only in crafting this gin but also in its packaging. No plastic whatsoever has been used, the bottle is made of 100% post-consumer recycled glass and the stopper is natural cork.
THE INSPIRATION BEHIND
SEA LOVERS GIN
SEA LOVERS GIN
Sea Lovers Gin is a collaboration between Matt Bridge of Lunatic & Lover Distillery and Jill Mulvaney, a respected gin consultant and educator.
The idea was sparked by a chance encounter and a clandestine, under the table tasting at an industry event. During the impromptu sampling, Jill introduced a ‘sea’ gin recipe she’d been working on that had been inspired by walks on the beach after a storm. There was something about the combination of sweet rain, salt in the air and the texture of the kelp on the sand that made her want to try and capture it in a gin.
The concept of a spirit that so amazingly expressed the very essence of the sea immediately resonated with Matt, who for much of his professional life has earned a living on the water as a sailor and harbours a deep love for the ocean. The distinctive gin was one thing, but he wanted to do a little more with the idea and had the vision to turn it into a conservation driven project with lofty ambitions.
OUR TEAM
Matt Bridge
Founder and distiller at Lunatic & Lover Distillery
Professional sailor turned distiller, Matt founded the Lunatic & Lover Rum distillery in 2019 with a view to making extraordinary, high quality spirits here in New Zealand. The distillery quickly gained a reputation for excellence and innovation, winning several awards in the process. It is this pursuit of quality and superior taste that ultimately shines through in Matt’s approach to distillation and he is often quoted as saying “I’m not interested in putting anything in a bottle that is a compromise or that I am not 100% proud of.”
Despite being a rum man at heart, he nurtures a soft spot for gin and even goes so far as to use botanicals and a gin distillation technique to impart flavours into some of his rather unique rum products.
For Matt, this project represents a wonderful opportunity to combine two of his great passions and, at the same time, do a little good.
Despite being a rum man at heart, he nurtures a soft spot for gin and even goes so far as to use botanicals and a gin distillation technique to impart flavours into some of his rather unique rum products.
For Matt, this project represents a wonderful opportunity to combine two of his great passions and, at the same time, do a little good.
Jill Mulvaney
Owner of Alembics NZ and The Alembics Lab
Jill lives on stunning Waiheke Island and, as an island dweller, feels the connection with the sea intimately. From this jewel of the Hauraki Gulf, Jill operates a business where, along with importing beautiful hand beaten Portuguese stills and teaching distillation workshops, she acts as a recipe consultant for several of New Zealand’s leading gin producers.
Although she’s had a creative hand in many well known brands, Jill has never sought the limelight and so, here at Sea Lovers we are delighted to now give her a little of the recognition she deserves. It is Jill’s passion for experimentation, expert palate, and deep knowledge of botanicals that provided the spark from which Sea Lovers Gin has grown.
Although she’s had a creative hand in many well known brands, Jill has never sought the limelight and so, here at Sea Lovers we are delighted to now give her a little of the recognition she deserves. It is Jill’s passion for experimentation, expert palate, and deep knowledge of botanicals that provided the spark from which Sea Lovers Gin has grown.