Gin & Raspberry
Some things sit on the wish list for a while.
For Rebecca and Blair, having their own Little Pub was one of them.
They’d been following My Little Pub for a few years, so when they found themselves in Christchurch, coming to see one in person was firmly on the agenda. And after finally stepping inside one, the wish list started looking a little more like a plan.
What followed was something a little different for our Musterers Inn.
At 4.2 metres long, Gin & Raspberry gave them more room to make the space their own, while keeping all the character and cosiness that drew them to the Musterers Inn in the first place.
And back home in the Cardrona Valley, there was plenty to inspire what it would become.
They wanted something that felt right at home amongst the history of the area. Something with the warmth and character of an old pub that might have been part of Cardrona since the gold-mining days of the 1860s.
And you can’t tell the story of this Little Pub without telling the story behind its name.
Gin & Raspberry.
It comes from Martin Curtis’ folk song about the legendary Gin & Raspberry gold mine in Cardrona. As the story goes, whenever a bucket of pay dirt yielded an ounce of gold, the occasion called for gin and raspberry all round.
It was a name that already belonged to Cardrona. But there was another connection sitting much closer to home.
The original red door came from an old building on the property with quite a story of its own. Before finding its way there, the shed had been the first ski rental hut at Cardrona ski field. In later years, Martin Curtis also recorded some of his later albums there.
Old, worn and carrying years of history with it, the original red door was something worth holding onto.
So it made the trip back to Christchurch with us.
We gave it the care it needed, while making sure we kept it as true to its original form as possible. The years of wear and character are still there. Only now, instead of opening into the old building, it opens into Gin & Raspberry.
And what’s waiting on the other side is every bit as personal.
And that sense of making the pub completely their own continues inside.
Rebecca and Blair brew their own beer and whisky, so four taps found their way onto the bar and a whisky barrel into the mix. Southern Lakes tartan sits amongst the timber, another quiet nod to the part of the country this Little Pub calls home.
And then there’s the little wood fire, added especially for Gin & Raspberry. Knowing where this pub was headed, it feels hard to imagine it without one.
Snow outside. Fire going. Something home-brewed coming through the taps. Friends around the bar with no particular reason to leave anytime soon.
Although, if someone does stay a little longer than expected, there’s a king single bed tucked away within the seating, ready when needed.
Even where Gin & Raspberry calls home doesn’t have to stay the same. It has its own trailer, meaning it can be moved around the property and brought to wherever the gathering happens to be.
There are plenty of details we love about this Little Pub.
But perhaps what we love most is that none of them are there just for the sake of it.
The red door was already part of the property. The name belongs to a piece of Cardrona history. The beer and whisky will be their own. Even the tartan gives a nod to the south.
It all comes back to Rebecca and Blair, the place they call home and the way they imagined spending time there.
And now, after years on the wish list, Gin & Raspberry is finally theirs.
“We cannot wait for many more evenings to share with friends and family in the Gin & Raspberry.”
We have a feeling there will be plenty.
Cheers to Rebecca & Blair, and to the many happy memories that await inside the Gin & Raspberry.
Looking to create something just as special for your own home? We’d love to hear from you.