Called Breakwater, it's an award-winning gin that gets its release on Saturday - aka World Gin Day.

Co-owner Luke Harding said it was "navy strength" - which means it clocks in between 57 and 58 per cent alcohol.

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He said there was a story behind why navy strength gin was so much stronger than the regular variety.

"The British Navy, when they were on the boats they'd get pretty trashed and spill gin everywhere, and the gunpowder wouldn't light," Mr Harding said.

"So the navy gin had to be what they called navy strength, so it was ignitable. It had to be high enough proof that it will still ignite so if they spilt it on the gunpowder they can still fire their cannons."

Obviously no one recommends firing cannons after a few gins these days.

Breakwater picked up a silver in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in March this year, but with the COVID-19 shutdowns, the distillery kept the win quiet until the cellar door re-opened.

That also gave Mr Harding time to tinker with the recipe to get it just right.

"This is probably the one we've been working on the whole time," he said.

"We made Sublime Gin and released it but we were still working on Breakwater. It's a gin fan's gin; it's got heaps of juniper, heaps of angelica root. It's what I made for myself - I kept refining it more and more."

World Gin Day - celebrated on the second Saturday in June - is quite a big deal for South Coast Distillery.

Not only does it mark the launch of Breakwater, it's also the first day in months the cellar door is opened.

Mr Harding said the plan was to open it every Friday from here on.

Saturday will also see gins paired with a special tapas menu created by Fanny's Fab Fare food truck.

"They've created a menu focused on gin and we're going to pair with with our cocktails, including a Sublimita, which is a gin twist on a margarita," Mr Harding said.

"It's a chance to try a bunch of things you probably haven't had before, both with the gin and the food."

The three-course menu includes salmon cured in Breakwater, kaffir lime prawns glazed in their new tea-infused gin and a dessert called a Sublime gin and lime tart.

The tapas menu will be available at South Coast Distillery on Saturday for one-hour sessions between 2pm and 8pm.

Bookings are essential and can be made via the links in the pinned post on the South Coast Distillery's Facebook page.

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