SINCE Kununurra farmer and operator of
The Hoochery distiller Spike Dessert was left without access to locally produced molasses after the Ord River Sugar Mill closed in 2007, he decided to go it alone.
Now he is about to commission a new mill. The Ord River Mill could crush 2000 tonnes of cane a day, which was small by modern standards.
The Victoria Mill near Ingham can process more than 800 tonnes of cane an hour.
By comparison Mr Dessert's mill will crush five tonnes a day. He calls it a nano-mill but it will be able to process all the cane he grows on four hectares to supply the ingredients to produce his True Spirit of the Kimberley.
His cane will be harvested by a 1960s Toft whole-stick cane harvester in the months when it has its highest sugar content.
When it was announced the Ord River Mill was to close, Mr Dessert bought enough molasses to last him two years and because one of the selling points for his liquor is that it is made from local ingredients, he began searching Central America for a secondhand mill.
It was then he discovered the growers in Colombia crush their cane on the farm and sell the juice to the sugar factory.
Consequently, brand-new mills are available to suit any sized operation starting at one for a farm growing less than 5ha of cane.
The sugar juice will be concentrated to a dark sugary syrup, using a flat-pan evaporator, enabling it to be stored in the high temperatures of the East Kimberley.
"It will be more caramelised than molasses, which will give the spirit a distinct flavour," he told the North Queensland Register.
Mr Dessert's main farming occupation is seed production, bulking lines of hybrid sorghum, corn, maize and vegetable seeds for major seed companies.
It's an industry his family had been involved in for three generations in the United States.
By the 1960s they owned properties stretching from the Canadian border to Mexico, however the properties were prone to frost and to guarantee production, needed a frost free situation.
So in 1972 Spike checked out the Ord, the year the dam was completed, and moved there in 1973.
As seed companies don't always need new stock, particularly when the farmers they sell to are in drought, in 1999 he decided to develop a second income stream and built the 50,000 bottle a year Hoochery distillery on the farm.
It is now the oldest continuously operating distillery in Western Australia.
For those wondering about the name Hoochery, hooch comes from the Hoochinoo Indians of Alaska who have always made their own alcoholic liquor.
Their name was then adapted to become the popular term to describe any illegally made spirit in the US.
The equipment for the distillery was built by Spike in the farm workshop and he makes what is thought to be the first traditional small-pot-still premium rum ever produced in Western Australia.
His Ord River Rum is aged in Oak barrels for two years and hand bottled.
The Hoochery distillery, a 10-minute drive from Kununurra, conducts tours of the distillery, offers tastings and sells the products at an adjoining outback-style pub made from recycled local materials.
"Our newest product, released only last year, is Kimberley Corn Liquor (whisky) made from locally grown corn and corn mash.
"It is filtered through American Mahogany charcoal to give it a smooth taste," Spike said.
"And two years ago we introduced Barrelling Strength Rum, bottled straight from our aging barrels at 138 proof which makes it 69 percent alcohol."
The Hoochery also makes an Australian-style ouzo called Aguardiente; Cane Spirit, very similar to the popular Brazilian spirit Cachaca; Cane Royale, a liqueur made of Rum, chocolate and coffee; Kimberley Moon, a premium White Rum; and three strengths of Ord River Rum - 37pc alcohol, 40pc and Overproof 57pc.
When asked whether he had to employ a food chemist to make his products Spike said: "No I didn't. I think there must have been some backwoodsmen in my family somewhere as making hooch came naturally to me."
Although the Hoochery was an instant Ord River Valley success as a tourist attraction, it wasn't an instant money maker.
It began production in 1999; sold its first bottle of liquor - Cane Spirit - in 2000; rum sales didn't begin until 2002; and 2007 was the year the enterprise made its first profit.
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