KINGS CROSS DISTILLERY

Looking for something new and unique, with cosy outside tables and a fascinating history of illicit gambling, a secret room, gangsters and night life hi jinx. 

Sounds like fun? Wait until you discover our premium gins distilled in "Miss Pottsy" and crafted by Gin Architect Odelia Potts. Dine from our exclusive menu of snacks, boards and plates (see link below) while sipping internationally awarded gins and embracing local history.

Our Gin Architect, Odelia Potts, together with “Pottsy”, are busily concocting away, in anticipation of the inaugural release of our signature KXD Australian Classic Dry Gin.

In the heart of Kings Cross, within charming Llankelly Place, is the Kings Cross Distillery (KXD). With tables for around 20 outside, KXD continues inside with a bar, cellar door and restaurant featuring a micro-distillery plus an intriguing historical interior, its formal address in Macleay St, Potts Point.

Named for Joseph Hyde Potts, the first accountant of the Bank of NSW, coincidentally, KXD’s co-founders are spirit architect Odelia Potts and her husband Khare Aoun. Though Odelia can’t confirm a familial link with Joseph, her ancestors did originate from the same corner of England – so they could be related, way back. Another eponymous item is the still itself, called ‘Miss Pottsy’.

Once a sly-grog bar, the building has also been an adult bookshop as well as an illegal gambling den. “I’ve been told [punters had to know the] special door knock – then it’d open,” informs Odelia.

Potts Point has always attracted the famous and the infamous – including the notorious "Razor gangs" of the ’20s and ’30s and The Beatles, who stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in Macleay St in 1964.

Local history plays a key role in KXD’s building decor as well as its products. A wall near the still is decorated with pin-ups and duplicates of old newspaper articles showcasing scandals. Headlines include ‘Riotous All-Night Orgy’ and ‘£3 for a bottle of gin that contained kerosene’. Those times are in sharp contrast to the present, where Odelia insists on the best. “With the gin, I must have good quality.”

KXD launched with two ultra-premium spirits - meaning they’ve been 12 times distilled. First was the Australian Classic Dry Gin: “It’s based on a 1937 recipe I found from England, which is around the time I wanted to celebrate the history of the area – I added a couple of special Australian botanicals.”

Then the Garden Island Navy Strength was released. A peninsula of Potts Point, Garden Island was the kitchen garden for the First Fleet. “So I wanted that gin to be really herbaceous. It had to be over 57% ABV to qualify as Navy Strength because anything over that ignites and in the old days, when they were paid in alcohol, sailors would use gun powder to ensure they weren’t being ripped off.”

To tie in with the red-light local history, as well as to literally ‘spice-up’ the flavour, two aphrodisiacs are also included. “People love this,” Odelia reports.

Latest releases are two Minerva lines – Wise Cut and Warrior Strength - a nod to the nearby iconic Minerva Theatre, which opened in 1939. As well as the Roman Goddess of Wisdom, Medicine and War, Minerva was goddess of Craft – appropriately, as it’s a craft gin. KXD also offers an extensive list of top-quality wines, created by a Sommeliers Australia consultant, while the menu offers delicious choices.

For an interesting evening spiced with history, why not try KXD – or hold a Xmas party there, where you and your guests can craft your own products.


https://www.kingscrossdistillery.com.au/


Shop 8, 127 Macleay Street, Potts Point, Sydney, Australia 2011

   Phone: 02 9062 8222

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