Anyone can make gin. You just need a neutral alcohol and juniper berries.
But to make a boutique gin, one that will sell, you need slick marketing, access to affluent buyers; you must tread the tightrope of availability and a haughty air of exclusivity.
Above everything, though, you need a brand, something people can believe in.
You need a story.
Nicholas Evans could spin a yarn.
The 37-year-old behind Kim Clifford Distillery fronted swanky events, serving up "masterful drinks" to an opulent crowd.
The spirits were immaculately presented and behind it all was a polished social-media campaign, leaning heavily on the cinematic backdrop of Central Otago.
"We want our spirits to taste like we’ve bottled the vast sky and crisp, clear air outside our window," one post gushed.
"Our proximity to pristine South Island waters gives us a head start, adding a touch of natural luxury to every bottle."
But behind the adjectives and the flashy photos, Evans’ story had a less romantic setting.
In the Dunedin suburb of Green Island, some 200km away, was a nondescript white building plonked in an industrial area; a hodge-podge of corrugated metal, skips and wooden pallets.
It was there Evans distilled the boutique booze.
A caretaker reported a makeshift bed in the office but when police came knocking in August 2023 they were not interested in the man’s dubious sleeping arrangements, nor the "fragrant botanicals" he used for his gin.
In the warehouse they found 122 cannabis plants, grow lights, extractor fans and a handwritten watering and feeding schedule.
There was $25,000 of the class-C drug in buckets.
But it was Evans’ phone data that really hung him.
It showed that for the past eight months, his legitimate business had been propped up by a well-oiled illicit operation in which he would travel around the region — including the picturesque Central Otago featured in his social-media posts — making his deliveries.
Before he was recently reinvented as Nicholas Evans, he was Nicholas Birch — a seasoned conman with nearly 100 convictions.
In a criminal history stretching back to his teenage years, he displayed a raging dishonesty.
No-one was safe.
Businessmen, finance companies, employers, friends, police and even a judge were on the end of his lies.
Most of Evans’ crimes had a financial motive but others were harder to explain.
There was a whiff of wanton mischief to it all.
He did it because he could.
In May 2007, Evans was found in the boot of his car in John Wilson Ocean Dr, his ankles and upper body bound by ropes.
After closer investigation, police discovered he had faked the kidnapping and charged him with making a false statement.
Just five months later, he was boarding a plane in Auckland bound for Dunedin when airport security asked him if he had anything fragile or flammable in his hand luggage.
"No, just my machine guns and bombs," Evans replied.
Youthful stupidity maybe, but during those early years he had already faced more serious allegations.
In 2005, he was acquitted of sex charges against two boys.
By his side, through it all, remained his mother Sharon Birch.
She gave character evidence at the sex trial, describing for the jury their close relationship.
Her son would not lie to her, Mrs Birch said.
The next year, he admitted cheque fraud and stealing horse-training equipment from his former boss.
But for the next decade Evans’ scams became grander, his sense of entitlement seemingly growing.
Getting caught did not stop him; repeated imprisonment had zero effect.
There was an enigmatic swagger to him, an incessant criminality that, through his numerous court appearances, was never explained.
In July 2020, a couple of years out of prison, KC Distillery Equipment Supplies Limited was registered with the Companies Office.
With Evans previously bankrupt and barred from holding company positions, a Gabriel Andrew McSkimming was inserted as sole director and shareholder of the company.
All filing of documents for the firm, however, was done by "Nicholas Birch".
It was a fresh start, perhaps, a foray into the booming and potentially lucrative world of craft alcohol.
But the following month, Mrs Birch died.
It appears the distilling venture remained dormant for several months, but in May 2021, Kim Clifford Distilling Limited was established, replacing the previous incarnation, this time with an Amanda Jane Russell as the figurehead.
The company’s first product: a gin named "1963" — the year of Mrs Birch’s birth.
Promotional material described it as "a tribute to an extraordinary woman who was always the life and soul of the party, and a beacon of unconditional love".
The personal touch became a theme.
Evans named a rum "10/4" after the birthday of his mentor and his vodka "No. 25" after his grandmother’s former home in St Kilda, "dedicated to special people and places, unforgettable smells and sounds, feelings and flavours".
The passion project needed more than a heartfelt sound bite, though. It needed dressing up.
Trudy Hunt, co-founder of SingleDouble, a specialist beverage branding and design company, was immediately taken by Evans’ story.
"He said Kim Clifford was his best friend who died ... they always talked about opening a distillery together and it was a tribute to her," she said.
Evans told Ms Hunt about losing his mother too.
He seemed "very sweet", she said.
Ms Hunt was also impressed by Evans’ connections.
The Luxury Network bills itself as "the world’s leading luxury affinity marketing group", or as Ms Hunt put it: "a club for rich people".
Members pay a fee and in return receive invites to ritzy product launches and events where they can mingle with others of a well-heeled ilk.
Evans had apparently got an in thanks to his wealthy mentor and, through 2022, Kim Clifford provided the drinks for several soirees.
In September, there was a crisp apple gin served up to those keen on hearing about the global investment outlook from Citi Private Bank.
In the following weeks it was at a private art and car museum showcasing the new Maserati worth $400,000, then a Melbourne Cup event overlooking Auckland’s glittering waterfront.
"He said he wanted his spirits to be really exclusive," Ms Hunt recalled. "I thought it would be hard to make money."
Payments to SingleDouble started to dribble in more slowly.
"Every time we’d call him ... there’d always be some problem or drama," Ms Hunt said.
Evans said he had shipped cases of gin to Auckland for a polo event but they were destroyed by heavy rains.
There was a flood at the Green Island distillery which ruined his ethanol, there was a fire in which stock was ruined.
He would pay the bills, he said, he was just waiting on the insurance money.
But the debts were mounting.
MCC labelling company’s South Island sales director Gavin McQuoid said they "jumped at the opportunity" to work with SingleDouble on the Kim Clifford account.
"No doubt about it, they were stunning labels," he said.
He had entered the wrong account number in making the transfer, Evans said, the cash was on its way.
It was an attempt to buy some time.
At one stage, Mr McQuoid said, Kim Clifford owed the company $28,000.
That figure had since been whittled down to about $5000, which he said they had "written off".
Despite the financial pressures, Evans had to keep up appearances.
In February 2023, Kim Clifford spiced rum was served at the New Zealand Polo Open in Auckland.
Back in Dunedin, business of a different kind was booming.
When police received a tip-off about Evans’ drug-dealing they sought a warrant for his phone data.
While he was mixing it with the economic elite, he was also growing his contacts in the shady underworld.
Between November 2022 and July 2023, Evans had a routine.
On a Sunday or Monday each week, he would send a group message to 20 people.
"Hey just getting orders in, sell 5 get one free," he wrote.
An ounce of cannabis cost customers $400, half an ounce was $250.
Ever the businessman, Evans offered discounts for bulk buyers and loyal clients.
On Wednesday, he would travel from Dunedin to Central Otago and Queenstown, meeting customers at their homes, workplaces or in public, court documents said.
Based on the text-message data, police estimated Evans would have recouped nearly $90,000 from drug sales.
On August 8, 2023, officers raided the Green Island distillery finding the "healthy, well maintained" crop.
Realising the game was up, Evans supplied the key to a locked room beside the distilling area.
Inside was $25,000 of cannabis, zip-lock deal bags and a set of digital scales.
Evans was charged with cultivating cannabis, supply and possession for supply, and was released on bail.
Although the threat of imprisonment loomed, there were shoulders to rub and grog to be shifted.
In February last year, just a few months after pleading guilty to the drug charges, Evans was back at the national polo open.
Owner of Hololio, which hosted the event, Josephine Elworthy said the distiller was hard to pin down in the leadup, something she put down to him being too busy or unwell, but he turned up on the day.
Kim Clifford Distillery even entered a team, which ultimately placed fourth.
Chukka magazine reported that after the hotly contested final match, the men’s trophy winners were each rewarded with a bottle of Kim Clifford 10/4 spiced rum "adding a touch of sophistication to their victory celebration".
Ms Elworthy said Kim Clifford also "very kindly" agreed to sponsor a polo youth team.
When the Otago Daily Times informed her of Evans’ crimes she was shocked.
"How embarrassing. Well that’s the end of the kids’ polo sponsorship," she said.
All mention of the arrangement has since been wiped from the website.
Yet despite his double life, Evans still had supporters.
A businessman and former polo player, who was instrumental in arranging the Kim Clifford sponsorship, called the ODT to defend Evans, albeit in questionable terms.
He said the drug-growing gin maker was "fundamentally not a bad guy", but also described him as "a bit weak-gutted and a bit useless".
"Poor Nick is a victim of his own stupidity," the businessman said.
"He’d give you the shirt off his back even if he didn’t own it."
Evans had told him he had been growing medicinal cannabis because he could not afford legitimate drugs to combat his mother’s health condition.
"He was trying to be the good bastard here," the man said. "I think if it was me and it was my mother I’d do the same thing if I had those skills."
But that did not quite stack up.
Evans told police he had started growing cannabis in mid-2022 — two years after his mother had died.
The businessman pressed on.
"You’re just looking like a scummy f...ing reporter," he said.
Should he or his colleague be implicated in any of Evans’ crimes — not that there has ever been mention of outside involvement — "I promise you, your world will change", he said.
She said she was aware of his history and worked alongside him regardless.
"He does a very good job at event management," Ms Beattie said.
"Every single account I’ve paid, he’s delivered on."
She said Evans was simply a victim of his own generosity; more manipulated than manipulator.
"I think Nick wants to help everybody and do everything for everybody, but he makes promises he can’t keep," Ms Beattie said.
"I think he starts with good intentions. He’s definitely not a career criminal. He gets mixed up with the wrong crowd and gets carried away with what he can do for people."
Yet Evans remained slippery.
He missed a couple of court dates citing a serious medical condition and at a scheduled sentencing hearing before the Dunedin District Court, his lawyer said he was in Rotorua undergoing emergency surgery.
Multiple sources told the ODT Evans had said he had cancer.
Judge Michael Turner noted Evans had previously been convicted of perverting the course of justice by lying to a judge in Alexandra.
"You’ll understand why the court is reluctant to believe [him]," he said.
A doctor’s note purportedly from Te Kaika saying Evans was suffering from an "acute medical illness" was "frankly not worth the paper it’s written on", Judge Turner said.
He issued a warrant for the man’s arrest and he was finally sentenced last year at the Rotorua District Court.
Judge Glen Marshall referenced Evans’ bereavement in his decision.
"I have noted that significant people which I will not go into have passed in the last few years," he said.
"That has had a big impact on you. It is no excuse for this offending, but it does seem that it has clouded your judgement or ability to cope in various areas."
The judge said Evans’ involvement in the distillery industry had taken him to "great heights at times" and he appeared to be otherwise held in "very high regard".
"It is a shame you have muddied all that by dealing cannabis," Judge Marshall added.
The court heard Evans had sought counselling and had strong community support.
While the judge referenced his medical condition as being serious, he stressed it was undiagnosed.
Evans was sentenced to eight months’ home detention.
No mention was made of his extensive list of past convictions.
The ODT has made repeated requests for comment from Evans without success.
Similarly, Gabriel McSkimming and Amanda Russell, the directors and shareholders listed against the Kim Clifford companies, have not responded.
If the sentencing felt like a reprieve for Evans, the relief would have only lasted a few weeks.
The commissioner of police made an application to the High Court to restrain the man’s assets under proceeds of crime legislation.
Justice Rachel Dunningham granted the temporary order but stressed the permanent forfeiture of the assets could be contested at a future hearing.
Among the allegedly "tainted property" were two vehicles — including a Ford Mustang worth $78,000 — and various bank accounts and shares in Evans’ name.
Also restrained was his grandmother’s former home, of which he was now sole proprietor — the No. 25 splashed across his vodka bottles.
Though all social media accounts for Kim Clifford were disabled this week, an earlier post described the inspiration behind the name.
"No.25 is the stuff memories are made of," it said.
"Here’s to memories ..."
A life of crime
2005: Nicholas Birch is acquitted on sex charges against two boys.
2006: Sentenced to 275 hours’ community work for stealing horse-training gear from three trotting trainers; cheque fraud.
May 2007: Birch fakes his own kidnapping; police find him tied up in the boot of his own car.
Dec 2007: Fined for telling airport staff he had "machine guns and bombs" in his hand luggage when boarding a plane from Auckland to Dunedin.
2008: Birch is sentenced to community work again for more cheque fraud.
2010: After pleading guilty to 49 fraud charges, he is jailed for four years 10 months; used dishonoured cheques to buy expensive cars and furnishings, pretending to be interested in buying a Christchurch-based bar
2014: Recalled to prison over deceptive conduct in his bid to set up Cougars nightclub in Moray Pl.
Feb 2015: Given a deferred sentence after causing losses of nearly $40,000 to finance companies.
Apr 2015: Birch turns up at the Alexandra District Court claiming to represent a transtasman equestrian firm, offers to pay off a burglar’s $30,000 debt, resulting a reduction of the man’s sentence. Later transpires it was all lies. Birch and the burglar were previously cellmates at the Otago Corrections Facility.
2016: Ordered to repay $27,000 over GST fraud.
2017: Birch is found guilty of a sex charge against a boy and perverting the course of justice. He is jailed for a year but the sex conviction is later quashed on appeal.
