Three years ago Tony and Karen Kustro weren't able to find a sugar-free liqueur; the only way their epileptic daughter could safely enjoy a sweet cocktail without risking a seizure.
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Today the Hazelbrook couple have made their own solution, with their new distillery business - Blue Mountains Liquor Company - offering three fantastically sweet but entirely sugar-free liqueurs.
"About three years ago we were on a trip in Tasmania... we went to a lot of distilleries. Our daughter has epilepsy and one of her triggers is sugar," Mrs Kustro said.
"We were trying to work out how we could allow her to still have a cocktail with her friends, because there were no available sugar-free liqueurs. So we thought 'what if we just create our own?'"
A home-grown project in every sense, the couple operates out of a distilling and bottling room they built in their backyard, while adding local ingredients wherever possible.
The pair's 'Zest' orange liqueur, for example, uses oranges sourced from Richmond - a fact which earned the distillery a mention from Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman in a speech to Parliament.
"I discovered a new Macquarie small business at the Springwood Growers Market this weekend, the Blue Mountains Liquor Company whose sugar-free liqueur is made with oranges from the Hawkesbury," Ms Templeman said.
"They were alongside many entrepreneurs who were giving a great idea a go - exactly what I did around 30 years ago."
Mr Kustro said: "Susan Templeman bought one from us, then lo and behold I got a text from a friend with a video of [her] in Parliament shouting out our business. I was dumbfounded, that was brilliant."
Having only launched the distillery in December last year, Blue Mountains Liquor Company already has six products to its name.
The three sugar-free liqueurs capture the sweetness of oranges, rose petals, and anise, but gins and absinthe infused with lavender and wormwood speak to the duo's desire to innovate further.
"I'd like to do stuff that's out of the ordinary... both gins are effectively different than what we've got out there," Mr Kustro said.
"We'd love to expand on that sugar-free range as well, so other recipes, the classics. I'll say it: Limoncello. Imagine a Limoncello, that's zero sugar, but has that sweetness."
The cornerstone of Blue Mountains Liquor Company liqueurs is monk fruit, which can be used to create an intense sweetness without glucose or fructose. Mr Kustro said they pay up to $600 per kilogram of this key ingredient.
With their daughter now able to enjoy a sweet cocktail at home, Mr and Mrs Kustro said their next hope is to get bars and pubs involved so that she can equally enjoy those drinks while out on the town.
They're also looking to secure a larger storage space for their products - and eventually a standalone spot for the business.
"That would be our dream: a cellar door, somewhere in the Mountains, where we have a cafe-restaurant, or a working distillery... that's our goal," Mr Kustro said.
Blue Mountains Liquor Company drinks can be ordered at https://www.bmliquorco.com.au/ or on Dan Murphy's Marketplace online. They can also be found in-store at Lawson and Hazelbrook bottle shops, and are a shelf option at The Bootlegger Bar in Katoomba.
