Gascoyne Resources (was ASX:GCY) did the same thing with Gins @thetjs (rather than whiskeys), and they almost went broke until they recapitalised, changed their name to Spartan Resources (was ASX:SPR), found the high-grade Never Never and Pepper gold deposits and then got taken out (acquired) by Ramelius Resources (RMS). Never Never is an award-winning Australian distillery based in McLaren Vale, South Australia, known for producing juniper-forward gin. Pepper is a prominent, modern botanical used to flavor, spice, or infuse many types of contemporary gin.
See how many of their other deposits you recognise as famous gin brands:
- Freak: 110 metres south of the Pepper gold deposit.
- Gilbey's: The OG deposit and open pit at the site.
- Hendricks: A prospect identified during exploration.
- Vickers: A prospect drilled by the company.
- Beefeater: A prospect targeted during exploration.
- Portrush: A target within the resource shell.
OK, Freak was the one I hadn't heard of, but Google reliably informs me that Juniper Freak Gin is a highly regarded type of gin produced by Never Never Distilling Co. in McLaren Vale. So Freak is not a gin brand but a variety of premium gin produced by Never Never, a gin company that their best ever gold deposit is named after.
So Simon Lawson stuck with the Gin names for their gold prospects after the recapitisation and rebranding of Gascoyne to Spartan and it didn't do them any harm; by all accounts Never Never is a spectacular discovery and RMS are going hammer and tongs to get the development stopes completed ASAP so they can start trucking that high grade Never Never ore to their Mt Magnet mill ("gold production hub") and make even more of that sweet, sweet cash.
Gascoyne and Spartan are not themselves brands of gin, although a company called Spartan Acquisition Corp was involved in financing Forbidden Spirits Distilling Co in British Columbia, which produces "Eve's Original Gin" - bit of a long shot that one.
Further Reading: https://www.miningnews.net/precious-metals/resourcestocks/1250331/gilbeys-tonic-gascoyne [14-July-2016, so almost a decade ago]
Hopefully Somerset Minerals (ASX:SMM) don't go through the same type of near-death experience that Gascoyne did (on more than one occasion if memory serves...) before their Spiritus-Frumenti-inspired prospect titles produce the goods for them.
