Saint Felix

Distillery

Our distillery focusses on fruit-based spirits in brandy, aperitivo and contemporary forms. We’re also Australia’s first distillery to produce mastic gin.

+ Read more

From the alpine regions of Japan to the forests of northern Greece, we strive to find ingredients that push the boundaries of the distilling process. Both underrated and undiscovered flavour explorations define our story, which we are excited to share with those adoring of great spirits. Our bottles are for the rookie and connoisseur alike.

We constantly experiment with the abilities of fruits, spices and herbs from far corners of the earth, often venturing into untouched terrain. Countless hours of research are poured into uncovering the best ways to champion each ingredient and pay respect to their origins.

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

‘Innovative spirits
that trot the globe’

Our collection of stills honour the evolution of distilling. An 18th-century Portuguese copper pot still produces our brandy and blood orange aperitivo, while an innovative rotary evaporator – a technology uncommonly found in the Australian distillery landscape – is used for our yuzu and green tea spirit and our gin.

Whether you’re enjoying our drops on or offsite, or are merely curious about us, we thank you for taking interest in our journey.

KEEN TO MASTER

THE ART OF COCKTAIL MIXING?

There’s a class for that.

There is a true knack to making a truly considered, amazing cocktail – and you’ll see that in our cocktail making masterclass. Using Saint Felix’s spirits, our gin, aperitivo, contemporary Japanese spirit and barrel-aged brandy, one of our highly experienced bartenders will teach you all the tips and tricks that separates a sensational cocktail from a mediocre one. You may become so good at making them, you’ll never have pre drinks out again.

+ Read more

Whether you’re looking for a top idea for a corporate event, or want to learn something new with your nearest and dearest, Saint Felix’s distillation masterclasses cater to a range of groups and occasions. The only thing you’ll need to attend? Curiosity.

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

Distillery Masterclass 

Learn about our spirits in a distillery our masterclass. Coming Soon.

Secrets to distillation are a thing of the past thanks to our masterclasses. Led by Saint Felix’s co-founder and head distiller Xavier Nalty, our masterclasses explore the evolution of distillation, the science behind it, the equipment required and how to maximise flavours during the process.

Meet chef-turned-distiller

Xavier Nalty

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

The driving force behind Saint Felix is Xavier Nalty, who brings a sensational wealth of culinary experience to the distillery. Xavier moved from the Mornington Peninsula to Melbourne when he was just 16 years old to pursue a career in food. He landed gigs in some of Australia’s most celebrated restaurants; hatted venues including Vue de Monde, The Sofitel’s Le Restaurant and Moog in Sydney, run by Brent Savage. He returned to the Mornington Peninsula and worked at modern Australian eatery The Rocks for a decade, where he held the position of head chef. 

In the background, a love for distilling continued to grow. After years of experimenting with vodka, Xavier reached out to Calvados Christian Drouin Distillery in the abundant region of Normandy, France. French distilling is a highly exclusive world to gain access to, but a cold call led to Xavier flying over, living and learning with third-generation distiller and connoisseur Guillaume Drouin. Xavier developed an incredible knowledge base of the brandy making process – from fermentation and distillation to the art of barrel ageing.

+ Read more

Xavier eventually made his way back to Melbourne and enhanced his distilling skills at Collingwood’s Craft and Co, where he developed custom recipes for businesses, big and small. Following a series of unforgettable, grand adventures, Xavier knew it was time to start his own distillery. In comes Saint Felix.

As Saint Felix’s head distiller, Xavier aims to celebrate Melbourne’s multicultural landscape, translating the flavours of the world familiarised in his years as a chef in spirit forms. Xavier’s extensive culinary experience gives him an undeniable edge with unique flavour combinations and the science behind ingredients. He looks forward to offering spirit masterclasses, and experiences bringing Saint Felix’s spirits and food together.

We’re as pure as it gets. 
No artificial colours or flavours.

Our stills

Saint Felix unites the extensive evolution of distillation under one roof. Our processes and machinery venture back centuries before us – for not one still is fitting for all spirits and desires. While innovation in distillation is always sought after, we look back to stills loved by generations before us, knowing that sometimes the newcomers simply can’t do as good a job.

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

Old School

Alembic Pot Still

The distillation process traditionally relied on copper pot stills, also known as alembic stills, first created in the 18th century. We are privileged to produce our brandy and citrus aperitivo in a historic Portuguese alembic still, not that we really know how it got here. It’s a bit of a mystery – potentially smuggled in back in the 60s.

+ Read more

Alembic stills follow the pot distillation process. Liquids and flavours, comprising herbs and fruit, are placed into the body of the still, known as the “pot” or sometimes the “kettle”. The mixture is heated and produces a vapour, which travels through the neck’s cool copper coils and condensed to form the final spirit. Leftover contents are cleaned

out of the still and the process commences again. You may have seen large, industrial column stills at other distilleries – which are undoubtedly brilliant – but the good ol’ pot still remains king in the production of various spirits.

New School

Rotary Evaporator

The rotary evaporator, affectionately known as the “rotovap”, is one of our favourite toys to play with. It holds the power of extracting low-boiling compounds from a mixture – something traditional stills are often unable to do successfully.

+ Read more

This is incredibly important at Saint Felix, particularly when it comes to the art of fruit-based distilling. We use the rotovap to craft our Wild Forest Gin and Yuzu and Green Tea Spirit. The heating points of traditional stills are too harsh on fruits like yuzu, with the potential to burn.

We’re making no compromises on our spirits. The rotovap boils contents at a much cooler temperature, allowing pure oils to be retained and come through confidently in the final product.

Who was 
Felix Reader?

Born in Germany, 1850, Felix Reader was an intrepid explorer and distiller. He set foot across the globe and eventually settled in the quaint country town of Dimboola, western Victoria.

+ Read more

An avid forager, botanist and chemist, Felix blended and distilled remedies to aid the people of Victoria. Even when travel proved incredibly difficult (perhaps even more difficult than now) he didn’t hold back. His admiration of foreign lands could not be contained, achieving proficiency in four languages along the way.

We are by no means blessed with the same medicinal talents as Felix Reader, but aim to bring another sort of joy and relief to our followers. Felix Reader’s limitless curiosity inspires us – as such we’ve named our sanctuary in honour of him.

Saint Felix

Distillery

Our distillery focusses on fruit-based spirits in brandy, aperitivo and contemporary forms. We’re also Australia’s first distillery to produce mastic gin.

+ Read more

From the alpine regions of Japan to the forests of northern Greece, we strive to find ingredients that push the boundaries of the distilling process. Both underrated and undiscovered flavour explorations define our story, which we are excited to share with those adoring of great spirits. Our bottles are for the rookie and connoisseur alike.

We constantly experiment with the abilities of fruits, spices and herbs from far corners of the earth, often venturing into untouched terrain. Countless hours of research are poured into uncovering the best ways to champion each ingredient and pay respect to their origins.

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

‘Innovative spirits
that trot the globe’

Our collection of stills honour the evolution of distilling. An 18th-century Portuguese copper pot still produces our brandy and blood orange aperitivo, while an innovative rotary evaporator – a technology uncommonly found in the Australian distillery landscape – is used for our yuzu and green tea spirit and our gin. Whether you’re enjoying our drops on or offsite, or are merely curious about us, we thank you for taking interest in our journey.

KEEN TO MASTER

THE ART OF COCKTAIL MIXING?

There’s a class for that.

There is a true knack to making a truly considered, amazing cocktail – and you’ll see that in our cocktail making masterclass. Using Saint Felix’s spirits, our gin, aperitivo, contemporary Japanese spirit and barrel-aged brandy, one of our highly experienced bartenders will teach you all the tips and tricks that separates a sensational cocktail from a mediocre one. You may become so good at making them, you’ll never have pre drinks out again.

+ Read more

Whether you’re looking for a top idea for a corporate event, or want to learn something new with your nearest and dearest, Saint Felix’s distillation masterclasses cater to a range of groups and occasions. The only thing you’ll need to attend? Curiosity.

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

Distillery Masterclasses. Coming Soon.

Learn about our spirits in our distillery masterclass.

Secrets to distillation are a thing of the past thanks to our masterclasses. Led by Saint Felix’s co-founder and head distiller Xavier Nalty, our masterclasses explore the evolution of distillation, the science behind it, the equipment required and how to maximise flavours during the process.

Meet chef-turned-distiller

Xavier Nalty

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

The driving force behind Saint Felix is Xavier Nalty, who brings a sensational wealth of culinary experience to the distillery. Xavier moved from the Mornington Peninsula to Melbourne when he was just 16 years old to pursue a career in food. He landed gigs in some of Australia’s most celebrated restaurants; hatted venues including Vue de Monde, The Sofitel’s Le Restaurant and Moog in Sydney, run by Brent Savage. He returned to the Mornington Peninsula and worked at modern Australian eatery The Rocks for a decade, where he held the position of head chef. 

In the background, a love for distilling continued to grow. After years of experimenting with vodka, Xavier reached out to Calvados Christian Drouin Distillery in the abundant region of Normandy, France. French distilling is a highly exclusive world to gain access to, but a cold call led to Xavier flying over, living and learning with third-generation distiller and connoisseur Guillaume Drouin. Xavier developed an incredible knowledge base of the brandy making process – from fermentation and distillation to the art of barrel ageing.

+ Read more

Xavier eventually made his way back to Melbourne and enhanced his distilling skills at Collingwood’s Craft and Co, where he developed custom recipes for businesses, big and small. Following a series of unforgettable, grand adventures, Xavier knew it was time to start his own distillery. In comes Saint Felix.

As Saint Felix’s head distiller, Xavier aims to celebrate Melbourne’s multicultural landscape, translating the flavours of the world familiarised in his years as a chef in spirit forms. Xavier’s extensive culinary experience gives him an undeniable edge with unique flavour combinations and the science behind ingredients. He looks forward to offering spirit masterclasses, and experiences bringing Saint Felix’s spirits and food together.

We’re as pure as it gets.
No artificial colours or flavours.

Our stills

Saint Felix unites the extensive evolution of distillation under one roof. Our processes and machinery venture back centuries before us – for not one still is fitting for all spirits and desires. While innovation in distillation is always sought after, we look back to stills loved by generations before us, knowing that sometimes the newcomers simply can’t do as good a job.

Old School

Alembic Pot Still

The distillation process traditionally relied on copper pot stills, also known as alembic stills, first created in the 18th century. We are privileged to produce our brandy and citrus aperitivo in a historic Portuguese alembic still, not that we really know how it got here. It’s a bit of a mystery – potentially smuggled in back in the 60s.

+ Read more

Alembic stills follow the pot distillation process. Liquids and flavours, comprising herbs and fruit, are placed into the body of the still, known as the “pot” or sometimes the “kettle”. The mixture is heated and produces a vapour, which travels through the neck’s cool copper coils and condensed to form the final spirit. Leftover contents are cleaned

out of the still and the process commences again. You may have seen large, industrial column stills at other distilleries – which are undoubtedly brilliant – but the good ol’ pot still remains king in the production of various spirits.

Urban Ground Mordialloc Logo

New School

Rotary Evaporator

The rotary evaporator, affectionately known as the “rotovap”, is one of our favourite toys to play with. It holds the power of extracting low-boiling compounds from a mixture – something traditional stills are often unable to do successfully.

+ Read more

This is incredibly important at Saint Felix, particularly when it comes to the art of fruit-based distilling. We use the rotovap to craft our Wild Forest Gin and Yuzu and Green Tea Spirit. The heating points of traditional stills are too harsh on fruits like yuzu, with the potential to burn.

We’re making no compromises on our spirits. The rotovap boils contents at a much cooler temperature, allowing pure oils to be retained and come through confidently in the final product.

Who was
Felix Reader?

Born in Germany, 1850, Felix Reader was an intrepid explorer and distiller. He set foot across the globe and eventually settled in the quaint country town of Dimboola, western Victoria.

+ Read more

An avid forager, botanist and chemist, Felix blended and distilled remedies to aid the people of Victoria. Even when travel proved incredibly difficult (perhaps even more difficult than now) he didn’t hold back. His admiration of foreign lands could not be contained, achieving proficiency in four languages along the way.

We are by no means blessed with the same medicinal talents as Felix Reader, but aim to bring another sort of joy and relief to our followers. Felix Reader’s limitless curiosity inspires us – as such we’ve named our sanctuary in honour of him.

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