Why thirsty travellers are flocking to this remote distillery in WA

Broome's only spirit makers, Moontide Distillery, are a saviour on hot days in Western Australia's far north. Their gins are Broome in a bottle - layered with spice, tropical fruit, monsoonal rainwater, native flora and fauna.

They call it "the spirit of Broome".

Moontide's cellar door is one of the most isolated in the world but they welcome thirsty travellers.

The distillery sits on a flat, red road heading out of town. It's tucked in an industrial estate called Blue Haze with the Indian Ocean right behind.

Their cellar door invites visitors, weary from a day of croc-spotting and camel-riding, to pull a stool up at their bar and relax. Trish and Andrew Davidson make gin with the legendary flavours of the town - the motifs - such as tamarind, mango, bush plums and exotic spices.

Across Australia, distillers relish the chance to feature iconic produce from an area; it gives their spirit an "only in this corner of the world" appeal. The husband and wife team here take the tradition to a new frontier. Moontide collaborates with Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm (about two hours' drive north of Broome) to distil a flavour like no other - the fleshy, salty mantle of a Pinctada maxima pearl oyster. The mantle is that black lip around the edge of the oyster meat - the kind you'd find shucked and served with mignonette but, given the size of the Pinctada maxima, about 10 times bigger.

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Over at the pearl farm the bivalves are cracked open and divided into their useful parts. The pearl goes for valuing, the shell is carved down to mother of pearl, the pearl meat goes to market (fetching around $160 a kilo) and the mantle is sent to the distillers in Broome. The flavour of vegetation-rich Cygnet Bay gives the gin savoury salinity, perfect in a martini, or topped with tonic and finished with an impossibly grown-up garnish like rosemary.

"The Pearler's Gin pays homage to the history, heroes and heartache of all those who brought us the magic of the Broome pearl oyster," the distillers say. Its ingredients also including Burdekin plum, lemon myrtle, mint and the regulation juniper berries, the Pearler's Gin is one of three in Moontide's core range picking up medals in national and global spirit competitions.

They also make a Pride Tide gin in collaboration with Broome's Mardi Gras which is held in late February and reportedly one of the best weeks to visit the remote town.

It's worth a visit to meet the pioneering team behind Moontide Distillery for a refresher on a hot Broome afternoon.

Moontide distillery, 17 Gwendoline Crossing, Bilingurr, opens 11.30am to 5pm Friday to Monday, see moontidedistillery.com.au

Bottles of gin sell for $79 from the cellar door. Try the whole range with a tasting paddle which can be served neat ($17) or with tonic ($19).

Broome and Around offer a Flavours of Broome tour stopping at the cellar door to taste the range, see broomeandaround.com.au

The writer was a guest of Journey Beyond and Tourism Western Australia.