An idea born from three Stewart Island mates with a passion for good gin, has resulted in the launch this week (12 Jun) of the island's very first commercial distillery and flagship product 'Third Island Gin'.

The Rakiura Distilling Company is the brainchild of former school principal Jim Turrell, Deck Officer Ben Hopkins and Kiwi spotting guide, taxi driver, bar manager and now head distiller Dave Patterson.

Turrell said the project was something they had all talked about three or four years ago.

Rakiura Stewart Island's first commercially produced gin, Third Island Gin. Photo: Supplied

Patterson had been casually experimenting for some time with locally sourced ingredients and botanicals.

"Probably in 2021 we actually decided that we were going to give it a go," Turrell said.

The trio enlisted the help of their friend Hannah Watkinson, who had island connections and experience with beverage companies, as they set up their operation including repurposing a double garage.

Turrell said it was a pretty steep learning curve as they worked with Work Safe, organised ethanol storage and got their building signed off.

"You get good advice from people that you trust and you just keep chipping away until suddenly all the ducks line up," he said.

"For us on Stewart Island, there's some challenges around logistics, things like freight and electricity costs and so on."

Rakiura Distilling Company's head distiller Dave Patterson at the company's Stewart Island base. Photo: Supplied

"We just have to find our own way around probably making some decisions that other distillers might not."

This led the group to choosing a pot still, affectionally called Harold - after Hopkin's grandfather, over the more commonly used column (or continuous) still.

"We're going to emphasize that as a point of difference," Turrell said.

"It sort of relies very heavily on Dave's craftmanship, so we really are getting that hand crafted, batch distilled gin."

Turrell said that since the launch of their Third Island Gin on Monday, they had been swamped with orders.

"We're frantically distilling to make sure we don't run out," he said

"But we've got a bit on the shelves there ready to go," Turrell added.

Rakiura Distilling Company's flagship Third Island Gin includes locally-foraged botanicals such as manuka, rimu and horopito and is marketed as 'literally tasting Stewart Island in every sip'.

Third Island Gin is currently available from South Seas Hotel or online at https://www.rakiuradistilling.co.nz/shop/p/third-island-gin