Allan Edwards has a long history of growing lemons. He has been involved in the citrus business since childhood, working on his family's orchard in Victoria's Yarra Valley. "My dad bought this property and planted these trees in 1950," he recalled. "As a kid, I spent hours, days, and months out here."

Now, Allan runs the farm with his son, Michael, who is eager to innovate. Michael's latest venture involves harvesting citrus blossoms, a project that has piqued the interest of local distillers. "I like to experiment, so alongside lemons, I'm growing hazelnuts and other tree crops," he said. "I know a few distillers who were interested in sourcing citrus blossoms, so this year we're picking the blossoms from our lemon trees."

This initiative marks a first for both the Edwards family and the distillers. Michael explained, "We're leasing a 300-tree block to them for one year, and they'll handle all the manual work like cutting back trees. That'll also reduce our workload because it takes a lot of time and effort to tame all 800 trees in the orchard."

Harvesting citrus blossoms requires a delicate approach. Michael noted, "You have to pick the blossoms fresh because you're picking for aroma, much like the fragrance industry does. But they are super delicate and are easily bruised." The family primarily grows the Eureka lemon variety, which produces blossoms year-round. They also experimented with the Meyer lemon, which has a shorter harvest window but yields many blossoms. "That's our backup because the distillers really liked the Eureka's taste," Michael added.

Lauren Bonkowski, co-founder of Marionette, a Victorian distillery established in 2017, is excited about the potential of citrus blossoms. She explained that the distillery aims to create flavor-focused liqueurs. "There was a bit of a gap in the market because everyone was making gin and whiskey," she said. "But we wanted to tap into this less sexy category of liqueurs, which are essential cocktail ingredients made using fruits and nuts."

Marionette sources its ingredients from regional Victoria. "We get our elderflowers from the streets of Trentham, our almonds and oranges from Mildura, and our stone fruit from the Goulburn Valley," Bonkowski said. The distillery is now incorporating citrus blossoms into its latest product, an elderflower liqueur. "It's the first time we're using them, and they add a fresh, floral brightness, which pairs perfectly with the stronger taste of the elderflower," she explained.

However, extracting flavor from the blossoms is challenging. "Compared to fruit, they don't cope well with strong levels of alcohol," Bonkowski noted. The team has experimented with various distillation, maceration, and oil extraction methods to capture the blossoms' essence.

Bonkowski acknowledged the learning curve involved in farming. "We dived in with zero agricultural knowledge, so Allan and Michael have patiently stepped us through everything," she said. She expressed hope that the partnership will extend beyond the initial trial year, aiming to help maintain the orchard in the future.