Spirit of Diablo
Is there nothing Dimi Limnatitis of Diablo Co can’t turn his hand to and make a good fist of it? Tony Cox discovers what Dimi is distilling next.
Not content with multiple venues in Ocean Street, Maroochydore; the now-permanent Diablo Oasis outdoor bar at the Big Pineapple; an alcoholic ginger beer that is dominating that category plus a burgeoning spirit and liqueur production business; we encounter Dimi’s next step on the way to world domination where he is setting up the Beach Bar as part of the Noosa Festival of Surfing.
Yes, the Solbar owner and founder has added Solbar Events to his arsenal as well. I asked to look at Dimi’s watch just in case his runs to 15 hours instead of the usual 12 the rest of us have to put into half a day.
Dimi, in conjunction with son, Bayley, have just turned their hand to gin. After a research tour to Tasmania the guys were ready to have a crack at this growing drink category to add to the Diable Co range.
Paying homage to his homeland, the gin has been specially-designed with a Mediterranean flavour.
Following the Diablo philosophy of utilising local ingredients wherever possible, the spirit base is Sunshine Coast sugar cane. True to form Dimi played his cards very close to his chest with regards to botanical selection and conceded that it was inspired by four countries in particular who have Mediterranean coastlines. Those being Greece, Albania, Spain and Egypt. Juniper and coriander were the only two botanicals he was comfortable revealing.
On tasting, the juniper and coriander were evident. I also managed to identify a minty element which provided a cleansing, lifted edge to the back palate, not in any way dominating or overpowering.
What really impressed me was the texture and purity of the gin. When asked Dimi stated that when cutting his heads and tails in the distillation process he cuts his heads late and his tails early so the ‘hearts’ are really pure with a very small chance of congeners making it into his spirit base.
Yet to be named, the first batch has finished production, utilising a copper still and having a batch size of a tiny 500 or so bottles, it is a true artisan production.
With the Beach Bar providing great exposure to a wider audience and the release of his new gin, what next is in the pipeline for Diablo Co?
If history repeats itself we won’t have to wait long for an answer!
