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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Amy Martin

Coast trip sorted: The new addition to Mogo is just the beginning

How many tourist attractions can you place on one property?

Well when the property is 160 acres, it turns out, quite a lot. Foxdog Distillery is the latest addition to Sunnyside Park in Mogo, which is already home to Jaguar Stay luxury villa accommodation.

As well as a distillery, Foxdog has food offerings onsite. Picture supplied

There are also plans to introduce a brewery and a gin school, and combined with the distillery's onsite food offering and hilltop views, there is almost no reason to leave - except maybe to go to Mogo Wildlife Park next door.

"After the villas opened we were thinking about what else we could offer and pair with the accommodation to complement each other," Kellie Plenty, one of the amily members behind Foxdog Distillery, said.

"Our little town is just bursting with holidaymakers in the holidays and we wanted something that provided them with somewhere to go and something to do. That's when we started thinking about opening a distillery."

Foxdog Distillery has opened with five different gins and two vodkas on offer - with plans to introduce whiskies next year.

Ms Plenty said opening with a substantial range was always the plan giving people the chance to try a tasting flight. Where possible, they used ingredients from the surrounding area.

Foxdog Distillery has opened its doors in Mogo. Picture supplied

This includes the mandarins used in their mandarin gin and the samphire - a native succulent - used for the samphire gin. The latter has quite a unique, salty taste thanks to its location along the Tomaga River, which feeds into the ocean at Mossy Point. There's also a signature gin, navy strength gin, a pink rosella gin, a signature vodka and vanilla vodka on offer.

"The property's bordered by a river, about three kilometres of river frontage. So samphire is a plant that's grown in the salty flats down near the river, so we are able to pick it from there and we distil that," Ms Plenty said.

Foxdog Distillery has opened its doors in Mogo. Picture supplied

"And the rosella pink gin is from a beautiful flower, also grown on the property here. People usually know the rosella because you can drop it in champagne and it opens up. But we use it in our gin to give it the pink colour and this floral, tart taste."

But where does the name Foxdog come from? The business is family-run and sits on the property owned by Ms Plenty's parents. The name of the newly minted distillery is also a family one.

Foxdog Distillery has opened its doors in Mogo. Picture supplied

When Ms Plenty had her eldest son - the first grandchild in the family - 15 years ago, a mythical creature that lived in Sunnyside Park was invented.

"Dad would tell Lochie, the eldest of the grandchildren, that there was this mythical foxdog that lived on the property who would go out at night hunting," she said.

"He would say 'There's a hole there, Lochie, that's where he lives.' And so over the years, as all the grandchildren were born and grew up, they all were told this story about a foxdog, and so they would all go looking for it. And any noises at night, we'd be all like, maybe that's the foxdog.

Inside one of the luxury villas at Jaguar Stays. Picture supplied

"It's a story that's grown and grown over the last 15 years. And so when it was time to think of a name for the distillery, we were all just like, well, it has to be the Foxdog."

Plus, with the onsite accommodation known as Jaguar Stay, it seems fitting to keep it in the animal family (mythical or not).

Jaguar Stay opened three years ago after Ms Plenty noticed there wasn't an option for luxury accommodation in the popular holiday destination.

The 160-acre property of Sunnyside Park - home to Foxdog Distillery and Jaguar Stays. Picture supplied

"There's lots of accommodation for families and great accommodation options, but nothing like what we've provided," Ms Plenty said

"So we have these villas - which are basically one-bedroom houses with a private pool.

"Ideally we market to adults, but if the guests have a little one they want to bring, that's fine.

"And now that the distillery is open, we people can come and have a weekend away and pretty much not have to leave if they don't want to."

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