Not doing what you love wipes the smile from your face. One day, you wake up and realise what you should be doing.

For Brogan, that meant making spirits.

Why spirits, of all things? The industry is a regulatory minefield — a hundred and one steps to navigate. Setting up as one of the first distilleries in an inner-city council brought even more red tape, and no shortage of patience and perseverance to match.

But when you follow your heart, it has a way of leading you to what matters.

In September 2018, we opened our doors with an unknown 24-year-old distiller at the helm. With no roadmap to follow, we did things Brogan's Way. When the gins we launched went on to win awards, it confirmed what we already knew: leaving medical science behind was the right call.

Brogan is the shy type, more at home with her gins than out front in the buzz of the inner-city distillery bar. But she often sneaks a peek at people taking their first sip — because doing what she loves means putting a smile on many, many faces.

Never one to stop learning, Brogan is now pursuing her PhD in Australian botanicals and flavour extraction at Melbourne University — proof that the pursuit of what you love never really ends.