Former Australian Football League player Daniel Motlop has traded kicking goals on the field for distilling spirits that capture the unique flavors and traditions of Australia’s Top End. His company, Seven Seasons, has successfully expanded into international markets, most notably gaining traction in Japan.
Motlop enjoyed a distinguished playing career that spanned a decade, taking him from the Kangaroos in Melbourne to the Power in Port Adelaide as a proud Larrakia man. However, his ambitions for life after football were rooted in a desire to reconnect with his heritage and share his culture with a broader audience. Even during his playing days, Motlop enjoyed introducing teammates to traditional foods like magpie goose and Kakadu plums. Reflecting on his transition into commerce, Motlop noted that he always knew he wanted to enter business and Indigenous culture, describing the venture as a natural flow-on effect that also drew him back to his roots in Darwin.
Seven Seasons produces a lineup of seven drinks across seven bottles, designed to reflect the traditional weather patterns of the Top End. These tropical seasons are defined by rainfall shifts and distinct changes in local flora and fauna. According to Motlop, every harvested ingredient is bottled to tell a story about why a particular season occurs and what it looks like in nature. Offerings include whisky infused with Larrakia paperbark smoke, monsoon barrel-aged gin, and the company’s most distinctive product, green ant gin. Motlop noted that the green ant gin is world-famous and linked directly to the windy season, timed specifically to sustainable harvesting periods.
The brand’s international profile received a significant boost following a federal government trade mission last year that connected 12 First Nations businesses with buyers in Tokyo and Osaka. Federal Trade Minister Don Farrell stated that the government has completed 186 trade missions since 2022 as part of ongoing efforts to find new overseas markets for Australian food, wine, and spirits. Motlop credited the initiative with opening vital doors for his company, pointing out that while many international visitors travel to Australia seeking Aboriginal cultural experiences, his products allow that culture to be captured and shared inside a bottle.
Despite international growth, the business encounters specific hurdles when dealing with unique local components. Motlop noted that because native ingredients are novel to many overseas regulators, export and quarantine processes present ongoing challenges, particularly when shipping products that contain insects. Looking ahead, Motlop plans to navigate these trade obstacles to take his spirits further afield into Europe.
