About
Off Grid Rum Co.

Distilling hobbyist, rum enthusiast and drinker extraordinaire, Benjamin Buchecker had a dream… to get out of the dusty mines and put down the tools he’d been hard on since he left school at 15, and to become what all grown men truly aspire to – a self-employed, fully fledged, live by your own steam rum-pirate. 

He started with a 20-gallon setup on the kitchen table and a twinkle in his eye, knowing that if the big boys of the distilling world could do it large-scale, with his metalworking background (and a bit of help from the internet), he too could learn to make delicious unique, high-quality booze. 

And quality it was… feedback from friends and family was that this should be his full-time gig! 

The family farm at Gemmells, located in the arid hills south of Adelaide was the perfect location to set up the large shed, now home to Off Grid’s 300 litre traditional copper pot still, fermenters and all the equipment needed to take Ben’s small operation to the big leagues.

The name Ben chose for the business is fairly self-explanatory; in an arid setting where rainwater rules, without mains electricity, Ben needed to “get off grid” to make this dream a reality. The distillery is powered by a large solar system and fed water via rainwater catchment. Many of the botanicals and herbs used to flavour the spirits are grown in the on-site herb garden, and the dunder (mushy waste product left behind after the distilling process) is piped into the gardens to put nutrients back into the soil and encourage next seasons’ growth.