'Paddock to bottle' spirits distilled among the ruins of historic Joadja

Nestled in the hills, surrounded by the ruins of a historic village sits Joadja Distillery.

And it's this tranquil location, 25 kilometres from Berrima, that attracted Valero and Elisa Jimenez to the property, escaping the hustle and bustle of Sydney.

However, it was all by chance.

The couple both moved from Spain to Australia with their respective families as children, before later meeting, getting married and starting a family.

About 13 years ago they were living in Sydney and had been running a backpackers in Redfern for 10 years but were looking for a change and semi-retirement.

"Joadja came up in 2011 and actually at that point it was a bit of a miracle because we weren't really in a position to purchase," Valero said.

"We knew the property from we had visited here about a decade before.

"We loved it, we camped out here and it was just a place that really touched our heart."

Valero said they did not think they would have been able to afford the property.

"But when we went to the auction much to our surprise I think there was only one other bidder and it pretty much landed on our laps," he said.

A licence for a distillery, which had not been commissioned yet, came with the property, however the couple had no intentions of opening one themselves.

"We didn't want to run a business here - we just wanted to rest," Valero said.

"We then had a council reminder that if we did not operate the distillery business they would revoke the consent."

A trip to Tasmania to speak with the godfather of Australian whisky, Bill Lark, they learnt the ropes to secure the licence and bought home some equipment.

"We didn't operate anything but that's when we had some challenges in relation to bureaucracy and that's when we decided we needed to get back to work," he said.

"We imported some barrels from Spain because the Scots have been using Spanish barrels for a long time and they are arguably the best."

Valero said they ensured they were very methodical to begin with.

"If we were going to do this we had to it very well," he said.

From knowing nothing about making spirits, the pair excelled and soon their products were winning awards and they were commissioned to create a gin as one of the official gifts of the state that went to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

They produce several different whiskies, gins, rum and liqueurs.

Their point of difference to the hundreds of distilleries opened since - as Elisa says it really is "paddock to bottle".

They are one of the very few distilleries to grow their own barley and use water from a natural spring on the property, which give their spirits a distinctive "taste of Joadja".

"Our grain doesn't have all the characteristics of commercial grain and we don't get the high yield but we definitely get a signature flavour and it's organic," Valero said.

"To have our own water with it's own characteristics is special. If we were in the city we'd have to get spring water from somewhere or treat water in a particular way.

"Here it comes straight from the spring. We just do a sediment filter and straight in with very minimum interference with the product so you're going to taste Joadja.

"You're not just going to taste whisky - you're going to taste Joadja whisky."

While they are proud of the spirits they produce themselves, there is one of the shelf which isn't made by them.

One of the whisky's the couple produce is aged in Pedro Ximenez barrels, shipped from Spain.

"In the first 100 or so barrels we bought in about ten years ago we bought them full of Pedro Ximenez, sweet sherry, so they wouldn't dry out in the sea voyage," Valero said.

"Once here we would then as we needed the barrel we would take the wine out, sell a little, and then use and fill the barrels with spirit from the stills.

"Those barrels would then impart flavour and character into the spirit."

Valero said sustainability was also important to them, and they produce their own energy through solar and soon would be using fallen timber on the property through a woodchuck fire boiler to produce the steam needed to fire up the stills.

As well as the distillery, the couple run tours of the ruins.

The site of a former shale mine, Joadja was founded about 145 years ago.

About 1300 people lived there, mainly Scots who were bought there with their skills for mining and processing kerosene.

The mine operated from 1878 to 1911 when the industry collapsed and in 1999 the property became a heritage site of national significance.

Ultimately Valero said it was the freedom that had been most important for them.

"We're in a little valley here hidden away just under a thousand acres - we're just delighted," he said.