"For a bunch of New Zealanders to do it on their own dime, it's pretty cool," said lead engineer Ethan Kosoof.

A Kiwi-built amateur rocket is believed to have set a record as not just the country’s first but one of the fastest launched into space — all with home brewed beer and gin onboard.

Meraki II, a 4-metre long rocket, launched near Arthur’s Pass on April 19, reaching a peak altitude of 121.6km.

The two-stage rocket travelled at mind-boggling speeds of up to Mach 5.6, or around 1.9 kilometres a second — fast enough to cover the distance between Cape Reinga and Bluff in just over 12 minutes.

“It’s the first successful amateur non-US spaceshot, and the new velocity record-holder”