Distillery Info
Established in 2015 by two housemates, Jesse and Griff, Poor Toms is a small distillery in Marrickville Sydney that has grown into one of Australia’s most loved gin brands.
Jesse studied economics at uni, then went to work for a merchant bank in the city. His consumption of gin became proportional to his boredom at work. So he cut out the middle-man and decided to make the stuff.
Griff has been drinking gin since his dad gave him his first sip of g&t when he was five years old. Before founding Poor Toms, Griff was a gold miner, bartender, and failed actor. The Shakespeare nerds out there might have already guessed where the name Poor Toms comes from.
Marcel Thompson, a trained chemist, got his first gig as an assistant distiller with United Distillers NZ in 1987 (before Griff and Jesse were born) using stills made in the 1940s. He was apprentice to some of the legends of Australasian gin making, whose lineage can be traced back to the giants of the game in pre-war London. Marcel has done everything from operating the stills to overseeing full scale production and R&D. There is little Marcel has not made but his main passion has always been gin (making Gordon's and Tanqueray among others) for local and international consumption. We have invited Marcel out of his self-imposed exile to rediscover one of his first loves, making gin stills sing! Distillery Notes
