Coastal. Queensland. Farm to Bottle. Investment in craft not celebrity. Act of Treason Australian Agave Spirit is pioneering the new era of agave.

And from today, it transforms from an idea to reality with the release of the first bottles for sale from Top Shelf International’s dedicated agave spirit farm and distillery in Queensland’s Whitsundays.

The inaugural First Harvest Blanco signals the arrival of Australian coastal agave.

Several years in the making, Act of Treason is the spirit made for All Australian Margaritas or sipping quickly. Just don't call it tequila.

The Queensland Dry Tropics, unique terroir, unprecedented agronomy, and a distillery and production facility powered by renewable energy contribute to give Act of Treason its unique flavour and character.  

Located between Airlie Beach and Bowen in Queensland’s Whitsundays region, the farm and distillery is home to more than 600,000 Agave tequilana, the same plant that has been used in the distillation of tequila for centuries.

Located 20 degrees south of the equator- a mirror image of Tequila’s home in Mexico- the farm is unmistakably Australian. Flanked by eucalypts and shared with native wildlife, its creeks and waterways flow into the Coral Sea just 4km away.

Top Shelf International CEO Trent Fraser said:

“Act of Treason symbolises the pioneering spirit of a project that will create a new region of agave spirit. The Dry Tropics of north Queensland are the ideal place for that to occur.

“Like many others producers, we feel there is an opportunity for agave to be shared with the world and for others to put their distinctive imprint on a category that continues to surge in popularity in Australia and overseas.

“Act of Treason has joined the new global era of agave. We’re approaching this as an opportunity to create something new and expand the horizons of a category that has been geographically limited for centuries. In many ways it’s no different to the evolution wine underwent three decades ago.

“If some feel that we’re being treasonous, then so be it. The greater crime would be not doing it all.”

Investment has been made in craftmanship and not in creating a celebrity-driven, mass-produced brand that is more obsessed with itself than the quality of spirit it represents.

This investment is already paying dividends at all levels. The agronomy practices at the farm are industry-leading and producing plant growth and sugar levels ahead of schedule, while the distillery has been designed and built solely to create the best expression of Australian agave spirit possible.

It is a true farm-to-bottle operation with plants grown, cooked, distilled and bottled from 100% Agave tequilana (Blue Weber) at the Eden Lassie spirit farm and distillery, all powered by renewable energy.

The use of biodiesel is just one element of a sustainability commitment that also includes carbon sequestration, cover cropping, sediment run off prevention, water management and agtech – an act of care towards the land, waterways, coast and Coral Sea.

Upcycled shipping containers, spectral drone technology, geo-tagged plants, energy-saving sub cooler, a custom-designed ultra small batch still, gravity-fed water preservation, double copper pot distillation, and a repurposed basket press are just a few of the innovative features that have been built into Australia’s newest and most progressive distillery.