Australia’s flourishing gin market has spearheaded a boom in ethanol sales to alcoholic beverage customers.

Ethanol sales for gin making have nearly doubled since 2018, and Wilmar BioEthanol’s 2021 sales have already surpassed last year’s sales volume.

Ethanol is the base spirit of gin. It is infused with juniper berries and other botanicals to give each gin its unique aroma and flavour.

Wilmar BioEthanol’s Product Manager Ethanol Scott Johnstone said enquiries for beverage-grade ethanol were being fielded from distilleries across Australia.

He said Wilmar offered two ethanol products for alcoholic beverage customers – beverage grade undenatured ethanol (95BG) and neutral cane spirit (95NC). The 95BG product is manufactured at Wilmar’s Sarina Distillery, using sugar milling by-product molasses, while the 95NC is imported from Pakistan and several South American countries.

Scott said increased shipping capacity had been introduced to meet the surge in demand.

“We now have the ability to use bulk tankers for our alcoholic beverage customers. Previously we were only shipping in pails, drums or intermediate bulk containers,” Scott said.

Demand shows no signs of slowing, with the increased ethanol volumes not just for gin production.

“We’re also seeing a growth in ethanol for whiskey making, but whiskey needs to ferment in a barrel for at least two years, which is why distilleries will often choose to make gin while their whiskey is ageing,” Scott said.

He said ethanol purchased from Wilmar BioEthanol featured in a number of award-winner gin and whiskey spirits.

“It’s a real buzz when you go into your local bottle shop and see products on the shelf that contain our ethanol, especially when these brands are leaders in the marketplace.”

For more information on Wilmar BioEthanol, contact our team.