Night Merchant Distillery

Night Merchant is the spirits label at Bimbadgen, the Pokolbin estate on McDonalds Road, and its range runs wider than most cellar-door distillers manage. Alongside the expected gins, a Makers Vodka, Makers Gin, Cask Gin and Pink Gin, it makes an agave spirit and a white rum, which are unusual to find poured in the Hunter. The agave and the rum are the reason to stop if you have already worked through the region's gins elsewhere. Everything is made in small batches on the estate.

Tastings are held at the Bimbadgen cellar door, so the spirits share a room with the estate's wines and you can taste across both. The distillery keeps the estate's hours, roughly 10am to 5pm on weekdays and to 4pm on Sundays, and a tasting is booked rather than walk-up; no set price is published, so confirm when you reserve. Spirits are for over-18s. Bimbadgen also has food and rooms on site, which makes it a natural last stop before a night nearby.