Kevin and Fletch met in 2023, having both completed courses at The Distillers Institute, a renowned educator for those wishing to pursue a career and businesses within the distilling sector. At the time, unknown to each other, they were both building business plans to create their own Melbourne-based Shochu distilleries.
After chatting about our mutual passion for some time, we met in person over a few drinks at the Melbourne Sake Festival, and the rest was history - we agreed to combine forces and bring a new type of distillery to Australia, one that blended the creative verve of our Melbourne home with the rich traditions and tastes of asian spirits.
2024 saw Tano’s inception, from building out the business case and financial planning, as well as sourcing the specialised equipment that would be required to fulfill our ambitions. Facing the difficulties of language barriers and the frustration that traditional shochu and soju fermenting and distilling equipment was either a completely different requirement or non-existent on the local market, we set about having customised equipment manufactured locally as well as sourced from Korea and Japan in order to fulfill our production needs.
Running parallel to all of this was the daunting task of finding a location for Tano, and, after a year of searching and with many great opportunities and setbacks along the way, we finally found a home in Northcote, Victoria, in November 2024.
Fast forward to 2026, and after a year and a half of building, blood, sweat and occasional misted eye, the distillery and cellar door are now complete. With two stills, custom steamers, dedicated rooms for production or koji and nuruk, as well as a full cellar door bar area.
All of this has resulted in the transformation of an empty shell of a warehouse to a vibrant, art filled space which is able to cater for all our production needs, as well as being able to welcome guests to our humble home - we look forward to seeing you here!
Tano acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land upon which we operate, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung/Wurundjeri-willam people of the Kulin Nation. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and the Aboriginal Elders of other communities across the land - always was, always will be.