Our Story

What do you get when you mix a burning passion for Australian native flavours with an obsession over the bourgeoning Australian gin scene? Waterhole!

We had been growing a fascination with native Australian ingredients over the years. We'd watch all sorts of documentaries and find ourselves discussing how the native flavours would complement each other in different dishes or drinks. Our discussions turned into a passion for native ingredient flavour testing - starting with us enjoying these ingredients in our own kitchen.

At the same time, we fell in love with the flourishing Australian Gin scene. Amazing Australian distillers are using Aussie botanicals to create internationally awarded gins. What didn't make sense was mixing these great Australian gins with European inspired or bland, artificially flavoured supermarket tonics. How does lavender and rosemary pair with lemon myrtle and lilli-pilli, for goodness sake? Other tonics might be great for standard gins, but they're not designed for Australia.

And so, the idea for Waterhole Tonics was born.

We have created tonic waters that someone can hold in their mouth and enjoy the distinct, unique native flavours of Australia while also perfectly complementing Australian gin.

It took more years and many more experiments than we thought it would, but the perfect ratio of flavours finally became Waterhole Tonics.

We're really proud that Waterhole is Australia's innovative creator of Australian native botanical, premium mixers for alcoholic and non-alcoholic spirits. We provide quality mixers that are artisan designed to complement top-shelf Australian spirits.

The ‘Waterhole’

The inspiration for the logo starts with the word 'Waterhole'. The waterhole in Australia is essential to life across our arid landscape. The waterhole quenches, satisfies and supports life and is represented by the circle in the middle of the logo.

Waterhole is colloquial for a 'pub' or 'hotel, so the logo also captures the coming together of friends for a drink. (There are 15 people at the Waterhole in the logo!)

‘Bring your spirit’

‘Bring your spirit to the Waterhole’, on the surface, simply means pair your favourite spirit with Waterhole mixers, but it is more than this. It is about you, your spirit, your friends and coming together over a drink. The Waterhole is a place to quench your thirst, tell a good story, discuss the problems of the world, have a laugh, and revel in togetherness.

Our Spirit

We pride ourselves in living our values. This is our spirit:

Creativity & Originality - through our creativity, we design unique and original flavours. Waterhole allows our customers to explore new sensations or be guided by our expertise.

Craftsmanship & Passion – the quality of our ingredients and craft process ensures authentic, artful flavours. We are passionate about all we do and particularly about developing quality, superior products that honour Australian botanicals.

Celebration & Togetherness – across time and space, drinks are used to bring people together: to celebrate and to enjoy each other. We strive to bring passionate lovers of Australian produce into the Waterhole tribe. We talk, tell stories, laugh (maybe cry) and enjoy life together.

Complement & Contradict – Waterhole was founded on the idea of mixers complementing spirits. We will strive to support and complement Australian distilleries, Australian growers, and the industry. That said, we will push boundaries to create new, imaginative drinks. We take our drinks very seriously, but not ourselves.