Bacchus Distillery and Stockade Brewery general manager Rob Morton with the plethora of Cowboy alcoholic drink products on offer from the popular Dandenong South company.By Shaun Inguanzo
A ROOM full of cowboys and plenty of shots could resemble a scene from a John Wayne movie.
But in Dandenong South, the scene is the Bacchus Distillery and Stockade Brewery (BDS), one of the country’s Australian-owned independent brewer of alcoholic beverages, which has penetrated the competitive industry and become a household name with its popular range of Cowboy shots.
But while the company is digging its spurs into the hide of the alcohol industry, there is still stiff competition offered by imported brands, says BDS general manager of operations Rob Morton.
“We fight hard against all the imported products,” he said.
“But one can go and spend considerable money on imported products, or find us and try our similar cream liqueurs, and they’re surprised.”
Mr Morton said the company offered its own products, which were similar in taste and alcoholic content but much cheaper to purchase. “We don’t put millions into advertising, but instead have a comparable product without the add-on cost the competition have for marketing their products,” he said.
He said a cream liqueur from BDS might cost $10, whereas imported versions cost between $25 and $30. The most popular product, and the company’s flagship, is its Cowboy range.
A mixture of cream liqueur with butterscotch schnapps, the drink is served as a shot traditionally, a small dose of both liqueurs.
The range has since expanded, with the company introducing its popular Cowboy Pack, and the latest offering, according to Mr Morton, is a two-litre cask of Cowboy Smoothie.
But it is not just the lone Cowboy the company has relied on. “We have got a huge research and development division,” Mr Morton said.
“We are probably the movers and shakers of schnapps and liqueurs throughout the Asia Pacific, always coming out with new bright ideas, new mixer drinks and shakers,” he said.
The company, owned by generations of the Hajdinjak family, and currently under the watchful eye of Damien Hadjinjak, has wineries in South Australia and New South Wales, where it produces the grapes which go into its unique ‘vodka clear’ wine base.
“There is a process where we prepare the wine to give it stability and clarity,” Mr Morton said.
“We process most of this in our wineries in South Australia and New South Wales and bring it through to our storage facility here in Dandenong, where we further blend it into schnapps and cream liqueurs.”
The cellar door at Dandenong South is awash with various colours of creams and liqueurs, and its range is almost intimidating.
Mr Morton said the company targeted the take-home market, and aimed to eliminate the inconvenience of buying several mixer spirits by preparing shots and mixers, bottling them and then selling them at liqueur shops.
The progressive company’s busiest period – Christmas and New Year – is over, and no doubt staff will be sitting back and enjoying a well-deserved Cowboy or two.
