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The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is a delectable space to find yourself in at any time, but especially on a sultry summer afternoon when you鈥檙e surrounded by craft gin.听听The scent of citrus and pine needles fills the air, mingling with tonic so crisp you could cut yourself. One sniff and you suddenly realise you鈥檙e very, very thirsty.听听

But there鈥檚 no rush. You鈥檙e at the Melbourne Gin Festival, and 55 of Australia鈥檚 craftiest distillers are sharing their production secrets and free samples, so it鈥檚 best to pace yourself.听听There are tutored tastings and 10-minute food and gin demos. There are deep dives tackling topics such as What is a Navy Gin? And there is the woman behind it all: Judith Kennedy.听听

No one else was doing it听

听Judith Kennedy AM (that’s an Order of Australia for 20 years of service to the wine industry) is something of an unstoppable force. Over the course of her career, she鈥檚 been a critical care nurse, brought up four kids, and spent 17 years in film production management, including a stint in Hollywood.听听

She ditched retirement to organise award presentations, dinners and big public events for the wine industry, and ended up launching the 鈥渂outique wine鈥� movement. Then she retired (again), only to come back (again), this time to revolutionise the gin industry!

That was three and a half years ago, when there were 48 gin distillers in Australia. Now, there are more than 450. And you can taste the work of some of the finest at Gin Festivals around the country 鈥� all organised by the seemingly inexhaustible Judith.听听

So, what was behind her decision to champion gin? That鈥檚 easy, she saw a gap in the market.听

鈥淚 started the gin awards because no one else in Australia was doing it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 hopped onto Google and asked, 鈥榠s anyone judging gin?鈥欌�澨�听

Not being the sort to snooze and lose, Judith started the Australian Gin Distillers Association the very same night, and quickly got the ball rolling.听

鈥淚 thought, let’s just see if it exists, and then I registered it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was used to running an industry where we gave prizes to the participants, so I set up a system of awards, and I brought in one of the famous distillers in Australia, Bill Lark. I asked him to chair for me, and he told me who the judges should be.听听

鈥淚 knew how to put together a show and fabulous dinners, awards, trophies. And I also knew how to put together public events. So I just picked up my business model from the wine industry.鈥澨�听

Keeping things kicking during COVID听

听Judith鈥檚 background in critical care would have come in handy in 2020. Not because she returned to the hospital, but because, when the pandemic hit, she was all in on gin and trying to get her festivals off the ground. Given everything that鈥檚 gone down over the past two years, it鈥檚 a miracle they鈥檙e still alive and kicking.听听

听鈥淲e ran two big events each year, despite COVID, because we zigzagged through the problem states and managed through a bit of luck and good management,鈥� Judith says. 鈥淭hen, with each of the festivals I was doing, about two weeks later that state would go into lockdown.鈥澨�

Her team has now put on seven major events, each a smash hit, with ginthusiasts jumping at the chance to sample and stock up on new favourites and flavours. At pre-Christmas festivals in Canberra the past two years in a row, attendees even brought shopping trolleys to cart all their purchases home.听听

Needless to say, the events are proving just as popular among vendors.听

鈥淭he only unhappy distillers were those who couldn’t get in because we sold out,鈥� Judith says, 鈥渁nd there was a huge demand for more stands.鈥澨�

An inspired choice of sponsor听

As you can imagine, getting pallet-loads of gin from distilleries dotted across Australia to the event location intact and on time calls for some serious logistics. Luckily, Judith had a savvy solution to that problem.听

鈥淥ur major sponsor now is Mainfreight Australia, because you’ve got all these distillers with all this gin 鈥� how do you get it all to come here, to this building, at the right time, on the right day? It鈥檚 a nightmare,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o, to solve the nightmare, you get a transport company as your sponsor.鈥澨�听听

Even so, there is an incredible amount of effort required by Judith鈥檚 team. They are constantly checking and confirming how many boxes have been sent from which distillery and, later, whether they鈥檙e all present and accounted for at the correct location.听听Sometimes local distilleries choose to self-deliver, which is yet another exercise in careful coordination.听听

听鈥淲e do a chart of when you’re allowed in the loading dock,鈥� she says. 鈥淥therwise, you get to four o鈥檆lock in the afternoon and someone is standing there saying, 鈥榃here鈥檚 my gin? It hasn’t arrived.鈥� And we think, 鈥極h, I wonder if it [has come and gone already]?鈥櫶�听

听鈥淵ou can’t have those questions. It has to all be done. So I teach my staff the word 鈥榓ssume鈥� doesn’t exist.鈥澨�

听We are family听

Although she鈥檚 certainly an essential element, Judith is quick to point out that there鈥檚 no way she could pull off these festivals on her own. She relies on the help of her team, which includes several members of her family.听听

听鈥淚t sounds corny, but you really need a village,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen these events are on, I have my two full-timers obviously running at a hundred miles an hour doing all the preplanning and the work, and solid work during the session. But I then bring in my daughter, who’s the CFO 鈥� she鈥檚 done six or seven festivals with me 鈥� and my son comes over from Perth, because he managed the first festival when we couldn’t get into Perth.听听

鈥淚’ve got my granddaughter and her boyfriend 鈥� a couple of Uni students. They’ve done five or six of the festivals. They know how to do it with their eyes closed. And I’ve got another granddaughter and another grandson in Sydney who with university commitments couldn’t come down, but they’ll be involved in the next one in Sydney.鈥澨�

It鈥檚 a beautiful thing to be able to share the experience of hosting a large-scale event with the people closest to you, she adds. Particularly when you know you can rely on them.听听

鈥淚t’s terrific having the family involved and that’s important to me. And they love it and they know what they’re doing 鈥� they know when to provide the ice for the distillers, what to say, how to put out the bushfires.鈥澨�

Do your research

Asked whether she has any advice for budding event managers, Judith stresses the need to do your due diligence.听听

听She鈥檇 recommend using 91制片厂 if you鈥檙e ready to start selling tickets, but, 鈥淒on’t even think of that stage until you’ve got a really good business plan and you know you’ve got a market,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is something that I’ve done by design, not by luck. I’ve always gone for a gap in the market.鈥澨�

With events coming up in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Auckland, it鈥檚 a gap she saw and conquered, with no signs of slowing down. In fact, next up, Judith is looking to take her Gin Festivals to Singapore, and then 鈥� who knows? The world awaits. And it鈥檚 desperate for a G&T.听

Interested in attending one of Judith鈥檚 next events? Follow the AGDA on 91制片厂 to be alerted when new events are added.

Feeling inspired by Judith鈥檚 story? Start planning your next event here.