The Adelaide Hills farming community of Bremer Valley doesn’t give up its secrets easily. Rolling hills, dry dusty paddocks and rusty reminders of the old copper mines that shaped this part of South Australia have hidden a cluster of agave plants that have been growing wild since the 1850s.
Nobody thought much of them. Nathan Newell certainly didn’t, not until one night when his dad, Geoff, offhandedly mentioned they make spirits from agave in Mexico.
“I didn’t take him seriously at first,” Nathan says.
“I thought he was joking. Then I started looking into it, and that was it. I fell in love with the whole thing — the traditions, the hard work, the care that goes into every bottle.”
“That was the moment it clicked. These old plants of ours weren’t just taking up space. They were holding potential.”
There’s no fast way to do what Nathan does. He teamed up with Rob Watt from Route 9 Distillery, and together they decided to keep it old-school.
Hand-cutting the agave hearts. Roasting them low and slow in a fire pit dug into the ground. Crushing, fermenting, and distilling twice in copper. Nothing rushed. Nothing faked – all sweaty hard work and tears.
“The roast is where it starts,” Nathan says,.
“You smell it before you taste it. That earthy sweetness, the smoke, the depth. That’s where the flavour comes from. That’s what makes this place different.”
When they tasted the first small batch, Nathan knew they’d made something unique.
“We’ve tried a lot of mezcals from around the world as part of this projecct, and this… this is its own thing.”
“You can taste the Bremer Valley in it. You just can.”
For now Nathan wants to hold onto the first bottles, at least for now.
“The very first batch is special,” he says.
“To see a bottle in ten years and know we made South Australia’s first… that’s all part of our story.”
And that story is only just starting. Nathan and his family are planning to create a destination. A place where people come to taste, learn, and stay.
“We want guests to see everything up close. The roasting, the fermenting, and the distilling,” he says.
“Eventually we’ll have boutique accommodation, a restaurant celebrating local produce, and spaces where people can really connect with the land.”
“Agave is about to take off in Australia,” adds Nathan.
“I really believe that. And we want Bremer Valley Agave to lead the way — not just in spirits, but in sustainability too. There are opportunities in biofuels, bioplastics, even construction materials. That’s where this is heading.”
For now, the first bottles sit in glass, untouched. The plants keep growing, as they have for more than a century. And in the Bremer Valley, an idea born over a casual beer is shaping one of South Australia’s next big stories.
Bremer Valley Agave
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