Quick answer: Sydney’s best all-round distillery is Archie Rose Distilling Co. in Rosebery (guided tours from AUD $28), and its most historic is Brix Distillers in Surry Hills, one of the first craft rum houses to reopen in the city. For gin specifically, Hickson House Distilling Co. in The Rocks gives you a Sydney Harbour Bridge view with your tasting, and if you only have one afternoon, the Gin Journey Sydney trail (AUD $89–$99) covers four venues in four hours. Below are 10 working Sydney distilleries, each verified for address and current operating status as of July 2026, plus a comparison table, an honest “who’s it for” breakdown, and answers to the questions people actually ask before they go.
Sydney’s craft distilling scene has grown fast over the past decade — from a handful of pioneers to more than a dozen working distilleries spread from the CBD to the Northern Beaches. Most double as bars, so you can taste a gin, rum, whisky, or (in one case) an alcohol-free spirit right where it’s made, then order a proper cocktail with it. This guide covers 10 distilleries worth the trip, what each one specializes in, current pricing where it’s published, and a couple of local nuances — like which spots have cut back their walk-in hours — that don’t show up on their homepages.
Table of Contents
Sydney Distilleries at a Glance
This table compares suburb, what each distillery is known for, and whether they run regular tastings or require booking ahead. Prices are per person where published; check each distillery’s site before visiting, since tasting-flight pricing changes seasonally.
| Distillery | Suburb | Known For | Tastings | From (AUD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archie Rose Distilling Co. | Rosebery | Gin, whisky, vodka | Walk-in bar + booked tours | $28 tour |
| Hickson House Distilling Co. | The Rocks | Award-winning gin, harbour views | Walk-in bar Tue–Sun | Bar tab |
| Brix Distillers | Surry Hills | Craft rum | Walk-in bar + rum classes | Bar tab |
| DNA Distillery | Condell Park | Rakija (Balkan brandy) | Online orders; visits by arrangement | — |
| Gin Journey Sydney | Multi-venue trail | Guided 4-venue gin crawl | Fri–Sat, booked tours only | $89–$99 |
| Manly Spirits Co. | Brookvale | Coastal/marine-botanical gin, whisky, gin school | Walk-in cellar door | Bar tab |
| Unexpected Guest Distillery | Marrickville | Small-batch gin, community bar | Thu–Sun, walk-in | $20 flight |
| Finders Distillery | St Leonards | Australian gin and vodka | Scheduled open days only (no regular walk-in) | Varies |
| ALTD Spirits | Marrickville | Sydney’s first alcohol-free spirits | Online orders; occasional tastings | — |
| Eureka Distilling (formerly Mobius) | Marrickville | Gin, vodka, artisan liqueurs | Currently rebranding — check ahead | — |
1. Archie Rose Distilling Co.
Archie Rose opened in 2014 as Sydney’s first new distillery in over a century, and it’s now Australia’s most decorated. The Rosebery site combines a production floor with an industrial-chic bar, so you can order a flight of house gins, whiskies, and vodkas within sight of the copper stills that made them.
The distillery tour and tasting runs about an hour and is currently priced at AUD $28 per person, with part of that redeemable against a bottle purchase. Book directly through Archie Rose’s own site — third-party listings sometimes show outdated prices.
Rating: 4.6 (over 700 Google reviews)
Location: 85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery NSW 2018, Australia
Contact: +61 2 8458 2300
Website: Visit website
2. Hickson House Distilling Co.
Hickson House sits inside the historic Metcalfe Bond Stores at The Rocks, under exposed brick and steel girders, a two-minute walk from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The gin range includes a Classic Dry Gin and a stronger Harbour Strength Gin, plus a Wild Rosé Summer Cup made with organic Cabernet Rosé vermouth.
The bar and dining room serve food alongside the spirits list, and the venue picked up Broadsheet’s Best New Bar recognition in 2022. Distillery tours run Tuesday through Sunday and end with a tasting of the gin-production samples.
Rating: 4.7 (over 100 Google reviews)
Location: 6 Hickson Rd, The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia
Contact: +61 2 8999 3852
Website: Visit website
3. Brix Distillers
Brix, on Bourke Street in Surry Hills, is one of Sydney’s original rum distilleries and still runs the whole process on-site around an 1,800-litre copper still the team calls Molly. You can watch raw ingredients turn into finished rum from the bar, then order a cocktail made with it a few metres away.
Alongside the bar menu, Brix runs regular rum nights and bookable Rum Experiences that cover distillery tours, cocktail-making, and a rum-spicing class for anyone who wants more than a tasting flight.
Rating: 4.5 (over 100 Google reviews)
Location: 350 Bourke St, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia
Contact: +61 2 9360 5441
Website: Visit website
4. DNA Distillery
DNA Distillery is Sydney’s first rakija distillery — rakija is a fruit brandy popular across the Balkans, and founders Monique Sutevski and James Projcevski make it from a five-generation family recipe. Their Classic and Gold Rakija both won Double Gold at the World Spirits Competition, and the Gold Rakija repeated that result at the Singapore World Spirits Competition.
DNA operates from Condell Park in Sydney’s south-west rather than one of the inner-city bar districts, so it’s more of a producer you order from online than a walk-in tasting room — check their site before making a special trip. Correction, July 2026: a previous version of this listing showed the wrong map coordinates for this business (a remote South Australian location instead of Sydney). That has been fixed below.
Location: 18/47 Allingham St, Condell Park NSW 2200, Australia
Website: Visit website
5. Gin Journey Sydney
Gin Journey Sydney isn’t a fixed distillery — it’s a guided trail, hosted by gin expert Leon Dalloway, that walks a small group through four venues in four hours: Young Henrys Brewery in Newtown, Poor Toms Gin Hall in Marrickville, Unexpected Guest’s Marrickville warehouse, and Ester Spirits’ cellar door. You get a flight or a cocktail at each stop.
Tours run Friday and Saturday and currently cost AUD $89–$99 per person depending on how early you book. It’s the fastest way to compare Sydney’s inner-west gin scene in one afternoon without driving between suburbs yourself.
Rating: 5.0 (over 300 Google reviews)
Meeting point: Confirmed on booking (Newtown/Marrickville area)
Contact: +61 416 384 669
Website: Book Gin Journey Sydney
6. Manly Spirits Co. Distillery
Manly Spirits, launched in 2017 by David and Vanessa, is built around Australia’s coastline — its gins use marine botanicals sourced along the Northern Beaches. The Brookvale site, in the Winbourne Industrial Estate, runs a cellar door, a bar, and a gin school where you can distil your own small batch.
The Coastal Stone Whisky “Tainted Love” series is the standout for whisky drinkers — three single-cask releases with a light smoke profile, a good entry point if you’re new to peated whisky.
Rating: 4.8 (over 100 Google reviews)
Location: 4A/9-13 Winbourne Rd, Brookvale NSW 2100, Australia
Contact: +61 2 8018 5144
Website: Visit website
7. Unexpected Guest Distillery
Unexpected Guest started as a gin brand run out of a 1972 VW Kombi named Gertrude before opening a permanent cellar door and bar in a former Marrickville mechanic’s workshop in 2023 — the oil-stained concrete floor and original beams are still there. Clementine’s American Gin (light, floral, low-juniper) and Young Tom’s Bathtub Gin (Lemon Myrtle, liquorice root) are the two to try if you want something outside a classic London Dry.
Current opening hours are Thursday 3–8pm, Friday 3–9pm, Saturday 12–8pm, and Sunday 12–6pm, with a $20 tasting flight and a rotating cocktail menu — check their site before visiting since gin bars adjust hours seasonally.
Location: 12 Cadogan St, Marrickville NSW 2204, Australia
Website: Visit website
8. Finders Distillery
Finders was North Sydney’s first gin distillery when it opened in St Leonards, and its Australian Dry Gin and vodka use botanicals sourced from specific Australian regions rather than a generic blend. Local nuance: Finders no longer runs a weekly walk-in cellar door — as of mid-2026 it’s open for scheduled distillery open days only, so check their mailing list or call ahead rather than turning up on a Wednesday expecting the old Wednesday/Thursday hours.
Rating: 5.0 (Google reviews, small sample)
Location: Unit 12/6 Herbert St, St Leonards NSW 2065, Australia
Contact: +61 448 223 103
Website: Visit website
9. ALTD Spirits
ALTD Spirits is Sydney’s first alcohol-free spirits producer, small-batch distilled in Marrickville using 100% Australian botanicals. Each spirit is named after a species of Australian cicada, and the whole range is sugar-free, calorie-free, and vegan. The brand won Alcohol-Free Spirits Producer of the Year at New York International 2021 and a Silver Medal at the London Spirits Awards the same year.
It’s a genuinely useful option if you’re organizing a group where not everyone drinks — a proper zero-proof G&T instead of soda water.
Rating: 5.0 (over 5 Google reviews)
Location: 110 Renwick St, Marrickville NSW 2204, Australia
Contact: +61 425 333 201
Website: Visit website
10. Eureka Distilling (formerly Mobius Distilling Company)
Mobius Distilling Company, founded in Marrickville in 2016 by head distiller Philip Crossley, built a following on its “Something 4 Everyone” variety bundle and small-batch gins and vodkas. As of 2026, the business is mid-rebrand to Eureka Distilling, still led by Crossley, with a mix of old favourites and new spirits rolling out under the new name. Expect the website and shopfront branding to be inconsistent while the transition finishes — that’s the business, not an error in this listing.
Rating: 4.8 (5 Google reviews, under the Mobius listing)
Location: 110 Renwick St, Marrickville NSW 2204, Australia
Website: Visit website
Which Sydney Distillery Should You Visit?
Ten options is a lot to sort through on your phone. Here’s the short version.
- First time, want the full experience: Archie Rose (Rosebery) — biggest range, most polished tour, easiest to book online.
- Want it paired with a harbour view: Hickson House (The Rocks) — walk it off with a Harbour Bridge stroll after.
- Rum drinker: Brix Distillers (Surry Hills) — the only dedicated rum house on this list.
- Short on time, want variety: Gin Journey Sydney trail — four venues in one afternoon, no driving required.
- Beach day, then a gin: Manly Spirits (Brookvale) — combine with a Manly ferry trip.
- Not drinking, still want the ritual: ALTD Spirits (Marrickville) — a real alcohol-free G&T, not a soft drink.
- Looking for something outside the mainstream Sydney bar scene: DNA Distillery’s rakija — order online, or ask about a visit.
Mistakes to Avoid When Distillery-Hopping in Sydney
- Turning up without checking hours. Several of these — Finders in particular — no longer run a standard weekly walk-in schedule. Check the website or call same-day.
- Planning to drive between more than two stops. Sydney’s distilleries are spread across Rosebery, The Rocks, Surry Hills, Marrickville, and Brookvale — an hour apart by car with parking to find at each. Public transport or a guided trail (like Gin Journey) covers more ground with less hassle.
- Skipping the food. Tasting flights on an empty stomach hit harder than expected, especially cask-strength whisky. Most venues on this list have a food menu — use it.
- Assuming every distillery has a public tasting room. DNA Distillery, for example, is primarily a producer — you’re more likely to buy their rakija online or at a bottle shop than walk in off the street.
History of Distilleries in Sydney
Early Beginnings
Sydney’s first distilleries date to the early 19th century, when rum was scarce, heavily taxed, and — for a period — used as an informal currency in the colony. The Sydney Rum Hospital, built in 1811 and funded partly by a rum-trading monopoly, is the clearest evidence of how central the spirit was to the colony’s early economy. Most early operations were small, family-run, and inconsistent in quality; government taxes and cheaper imported spirits pushed many out of business by the mid-1800s.
Modern Revival
The current wave started with Archie Rose’s 2014 opening — the first new Sydney distillery license granted in generations. Brix Distillers, Hickson House, and a run of Marrickville and Surry Hills operations followed through the late 2010s and early 2020s, most producing gin, whisky, vodka, or rum with an emphasis on local, often native Australian, botanicals. Distillery Botanica is one of the few that grows its own ingredients on-site.
The current scene is defined less by any one spirit and more by the format: nearly every distillery on this list is also a working bar, so tasting and drinking happen in the same room the spirit was made in.
Distillery Tours and Experiences
If you want a proper behind-the-scenes tour rather than just a bar tasting, Archie Rose and Brix Distillers both run structured, bookable tours that walk you past the stills and end in a guided tasting. For a wider, multi-venue trip, the Hunter Valley wine and spirit tour from Sydney pairs distillery tastings with vineyards outside the city, and the guided Sydney bar crawl is a good option if you’d rather sample a range of venues — distilleries included — with someone else planning the route.
Most distilleries on this list are within a short taxi or train ride of Sydney’s inner-city and inner-west neighborhoods, so pairing two in one evening (say, Brix in Surry Hills, then Unexpected Guest in Marrickville) is realistic without a car.
FAQ: Visiting Sydney’s Distilleries
Do you need to book ahead at Sydney distilleries?
For a structured tour — Archie Rose, Brix, or the Gin Journey Sydney trail — yes, book online in advance, especially for Friday or Saturday. For a casual walk-in tasting at a distillery’s attached bar (Hickson House, Manly Spirits, Unexpected Guest), you generally don’t need a reservation, though weekend evenings get busy.
Are Sydney distilleries kid-friendly?
Most are licensed venues that allow minors accompanied by an adult during food-service hours, but this varies by distillery and by time of day — call ahead if you’re bringing children, particularly in the evening when the space functions primarily as a bar.
What’s the cheapest way to try several Sydney distilleries in one trip?
A guided trail like Gin Journey Sydney (AUD $89–$99 for four venues) works out cheaper per venue than four separate individual tours once you factor in transport between suburbs. If you’re on a tighter budget, pick two distilleries within walking distance of each other — Brix and Hickson House are both close to the CBD — and just order a single drink at each rather than a full tasting flight.
Sources and Methodology
Addresses, hours, and pricing were checked against each distillery’s official website and recent third-party coverage (Broadsheet, Concrete Playground, Sydney.com, Time Out) in July 2026. Ratings and review counts are approximate, sourced from public Google Business listings, and will drift over time — check the linked map for the current figure before visiting. This article previously listed incorrect map coordinates for DNA Distillery; that has been corrected. Some links in this guide are affiliate or partner links (marked as sponsored) — if you book through them, My Sydney Detour may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. That never affects which venues are included or how they’re described.
Last updated: July 2026 — corrected a location error on the DNA Distillery listing, updated Finders Distillery’s current hours, flagged the Mobius-to-Eureka Distilling rebrand, refreshed Archie Rose and Gin Journey Sydney pricing, and added a comparison table and FAQ.
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