Five friends met working in the film industry in London and … decided to make an Australian coastal gin? The story behind Papa Salt sounds unlikely, but it was driven, at first, by Margot Robbie’s desire to bring a bit of the Goldie to their London flat, with tropical themed birthday parties and “a lot of day drinking” according to Papa Salt co-founder and Robbie’s husband Tom Ackerley. After the crew all moved to LA, Robbie decided to bring a good quality gin as an alternative to the sea of Margaritas in Hollywood.
Distilled in Byron Bay, the easy-drinking coastal gin quickly became a summertime go-to for many Aussies.
Earlier this week, the team announced on Instagram that they were making their first foray into the canned cocktail space with the Papa Salt Paloma, made with Capi grapefruit soda and a whisper of rosemary. The can sits at 5 per cent ABV, clocks in at under 100 calories and will be released in October in time for Australian summer.
Speaking to Broadsheet, Papa Salt co-founder and CEO Charlie Maas says “the Papa Salt Paloma is a natural extension of our goal in creating Papa Salt. We wanted something easy to drink for long days in the sun, but the consumer isn’t going to bring a full bottle of gin, ice, glasses, mixer, and garnish down to the beach. They want convenience and we want to meet them there.”
For such an Australian gin, it only makes sense that the inspiration for the cocktail was first sparked Down Under. “Before our launch last year, we had never had a gin Paloma,” says Maas, “but bartenders across Australia kept serving us Papa Salt and Capi grapefruit soda together. It’s been one of our favourite serves ever since, and one of those drinks we could always come back to. It just seemed like the natural choice.”
The friends were snapped sipping the prototypes of the drinks at Wimbledon and made an alcohol-free Mama Salt can for Robbie, who is reportedly expecting her first child with Ackerley. Despite the growing low- and no-alcohol movement in Australia, Maas says “we don’t plan to release Mama Salt. We made Papa Salt to drink in the sun with our friends, and we didn’t want to leave one friend out at Wimbledon. Mama Salt was our way to make sure everyone had a refreshing drink to enjoy that day.”
