Our Story
Our story
Born in the Orchard.
Raised in the Still.
Carmel Cider grew out of a hillside orchard in the Perth Hills — a few rows of apples, a stubborn streak, and a belief that good things take the time they take. The cider came first. Then a copper still arrived, and the repertoire got wider.
How it happened
No Business Plan.
Just Good Apples.
It started with apples
A working orchard in Carmel, more fruit than we knew what to do with, and a shed that smelled like fermentation by autumn. The first batches were for us. Then they weren’t.
The cider found its people
Markets, mates, word of mouth. We never scaled past what the fruit allowed — which turned out to be the whole point. Small batches, honest labels, nothing to hide behind.
Then came the still
A copper pot still moved in and refused to leave. Gin with attitude, single malt with patience, vodka that behaves better than we do. Same fruit-shed ethos, one more way to make something worth sharing.
Now there are two doors
A cellar door for the cider and a distillery door for the spirits, side by side on the same hillside. Come thirsty, leave opinionated.
The craft
Slow by Design.
No shortcuts survive contact with this place. Four steps, done properly, every batch.
Press
Whole fruit, pressed on site in season. If the apples aren’t right, the batch waits.
Ferment
Slow, cool and unbothered. We ferment for flavour, not for speed.
Rest
Some ciders go straight to tank. Smoke & Oak takes its time in barrel, because it should.
Distill
Copper pot runs in small numbers, cuts made by nose and nerve — not by spreadsheet.
“Make it honest,
or don’t make it.”
— the house rule, since batch one
The short version
Taste It
at the Source.
Thursday to Sunday, 11am–5pm, in Carmel in the Perth Hills. Tasting flights, straight-from-the-still pours, and a view that does most of the talking.