Saint Felix celebrates the cultural diversity that makes up Australia, producing spirits that reflect a love for worldly flavours. We are located in the sunny, bayside suburb of Mordialloc, Victoria. We’re also Australia’s first distillery to produce mastic gin.
Head Distiller, Xavier Nalty’s experience as a chef has inspired him to experiment with ingredients that create underrated and undiscovered flavours, such as mastic gum in our Wild Forest Gin and Sencha Green tea in our Yuzu and Green Tea spirit.
Using two stills we honour the evolution of distilling. A Portuguese Alembic pot still harks back to the 18th Century, while our innovative rotary evaporator uses the very latest technology to extract the intense flavours and aromas of our ingredients to create modern and contemporary spirits that appeal to all.
Our stills
Classic and modern, we have two stills, each performing a unique role in the making of our spirits. One embodies tradition, carefully preserving time-honored techniques, while the other embraces innovation, allowing us to explore bold new flavors. Together, they create a perfect balance, ensuring every batch is crafted with both heritage and creativity in mind.
The Classic
Our beautiful copper still is an eye-catching alembic pot still. She is a bit of a mystery as little is known about her origins. She was discovered in a shed in Western Australia and there are no manufacturing marks, but it’s likely she came from Portugal.
Her design is based on a Cognac still. Cognac, by regulations, has to be made over an open flame which is why there is a brick ‘skirt’ around the base of the pot - don’t worry, she is now powered by electricity!
She is used in the production of Wild Forest Gin, Midnight Vodka and Yuzu and Green tea spirit.
The Rotoevaporator
Our modern machine looks like something you’d find in a laboratory! It is performed using a cold vacuum method of distillation. The more vacuum, the lower temperature it can reach. We set it to 40 degrees to make our spirits.
The benefits of using this method are two fold. First it is a much gentler process for distilling our more delicate botanicals, like the sencha green tea and jasmine flowers in our Yuzu and Green Tea spirit, or the chocolate for our Bitter Chocolate Negroni, Oysters for oyster shell gin or Mastic gum for our Wild Forest Gin. Each method of distillation gives us a different aspect of the spirit. The traditional still gives weight and mouth feel to the spirit, while the rotovap gives a more concentrated aroma.
Xavier Nalty
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 as a chef.
In the background, a love for distilling began to grow. After years of experimenting with vodka, Xavier reached out to Calvados Christian Drouin Distillery in Normandy, France. French distilling is a highly exclusive world to gain access to, but a cold call led to Xavier flying over, living with, and learning from third-generation distiller and connoisseur Guillaume Drouin. Xavier developed an incredible knowledge base of the brandy making process – from fermentation and distillation.
On his return to Melbourne, Xavier enhanced his distilling skills at Collingwood's Craft and Co, where he developed custom recipes for businesses, large and small.
Following a series of unforgettable, grand adventures, Xavier knew it was time to start his own distillery.
At Saint Felix, Xavier celebrates Melbourne's multicultural landscape by translating the flavours of the world in spirit forms. His extensive culinary experience gives him an undeniable edge with unique flavour combinations and the science behind the ingredients.
Who was 'Felix' Maximilian Reader?
Our distillery is named in honour of Felix Maximilian Reader who’s passionate
pursuit of rare botanicals and chemistry have inspired our spirit-making.
Born in Berlin in 1850 Reader emigrated to Australia and established a pharmacy business in Dimboola, Victoria, in the 1890s. He wore a distinctive scar on his face from being struck with a Sabre in the Franco-Prussian war. He was lucky enough to walk away with his life which is a nice coincidence given ‘Felix’ means lucky in latin.
As an enthusiastic botanist he had a vast knowledge of herbs and plants and their medicinal properties and collected and documented thousands of botanical species. He blended remedies to serve the state of Victoria and published many articles on the subject. In 1906 he sold his botanical collection for £80 Pounds to the National Herbarium of Victoria.
