Whisky are being promoted on the selling-point of the rare and special wine barrels they’re finished in. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

There’s a bit of a fuss going on in malt whisky circles about the fashionable practice of ‘finishing’ whiskies in barrels that previously held prestigious wines.

Last year, I wrote excitedly about the Lark Distillery’s Rare Cask Series Tasmanian whisky, finished in Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny casks. I loved the spirit, if not the AUD $1,000 price tag.

I’ve also enjoyed various Scottish malts that have been finished in Sherry or Madeira barrels, even Puligny-Montrachet barrels, some of them rare editions costing thousands of dollars. And Morris of Rutherglen released a lovely malt whisky last year which was finished in Morris muscat barrels.

The beef with these malts is that the age of the spirit is seldom revealed; instead, they’re promoted on the selling-point of the rare and special wine barrels they’re finished in. Finishing means they go into those barrels for the last year or so of their ageing, sometimes not even that, and the residue of wine in the oak is said to impart a special character to the whisky.

I asked Matt Bailey, the Australian representative of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, about this and he said:

“It is deceptive consumer practice to promote the type of cask to the exclusion of the spirit quality.

“There’s too much focus on cask type rather than actual spirit quality. They’re using it to hide young spirit.”

This is the nub of the matter. The spirit can be quite young but the prices these limited-production malts sell for can be just as high as extensively aged malts.

A reader who loves his malts recently wrote to me raising this concern.

“There appears to be a great sleight of hand going on in the whisky industry,” he wrote.

“I am referring to the prices charged for the now ubiquitous bottles of the spirit on the grounds that they have been matured in a variety of casks that previously held differing wines.

“My claim that this is a sleight of hand arises from my understanding that whisky may be sold after 3 years in barrel and that as none of these many casked offerings claim an age they are probably little more than the minimum. This means they are being sold for prices similar to or exceeding aged single malts. That would be a great profit item for the distillers and would be confusing for the drinkers, most of whom would believe they are getting an aged whisky for their money.”

There’s little doubt that many less-experienced whisky drinkers are reassured by the numbers on the label. They feel they’re getting their money’s worth if the label proclaims 8, 10 or 20 years.

In Scotland and a few other countries, a spirit has to be aged for at least three years in cask to be called whisky. In Australia and in most countries, it’s two years.

But a brief chat with Matt Bailey revealed that the ageing trajectory of whisky spirit is not the same everywhere.

“A warm, high-humidity climate, especially one where there’s big diurnal fluctuation in temperature, helps the spirit age quickly. In Tasmania, it can be zero overnight but 27 degrees in the day.”

As my correspondent said, these fancy barrel malts look like a golden opportunity for the spirit industry to fleece the unwary consumer, especially in the captivity of the duty-free shops.

On the other hand, we could take the view that the distillers and their marketers are challenging the drinkers to put their taste-buds on the line and decide whether the whisky is worth the price on taste alone.

The BentSpoke Crankshaft American IPA was judged the top Aussie craft beer. BentSpoke Brewing Co

“It takes a lot of beer to make good wine.”

Beer occupies an important place in the hearts and stomachs of winemakers and wine judges.

Winemaking, in Australia at least, is hot and thirsty work. Beer is the reward at the end of a hard day’s yakka.

Likewise, after judging a hundred or so wines a day at a wine show, the last thing you want to slake your thirst is a glass of wine. Beer is the only quencher. And it’s much gentler on acid-ravaged teeth. I’m no dentist, but I suspect it might even be restorative.

For a wine specialist, it’s surprising how often I’m asked for my tips on the best craft beer.

I don’t drink beer often, so I defer to the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2021 poll. Don’t ask me who or what GABS is, but here are the results.

The winner? BentSpoke’s Crankshaft American IPA, brewed in Canberra, was voted Australia’s favourite craft beer of 2021.

In a close finish, second place went to Balter XPA, from the Gold Coast.

Another Canberra brewer, Capital Brewing, grabbed two spots in the top 10 with its XPA taking out the best debut beer.

I was pleased to see that two of my own favourites, Stone & Wood Pacific Ale and Young Henrys Newtowner finished in fourth and tenth places respectively.

Here are the top 20:

The Morris Australian Single Malt Signature Whisky. Morris Wines

Everybody’s doin’ it. Distilling this or that, and making gin or whisky or some other spirit.

Wine regions now have resident breweries and distilleries competing with wineries.

There’s nothing new about multi-tasking, of course. Maxwell’s in McLaren Vale has always made mead as well as wine; Kellybrook in the Yarra Valley is noted for cider as well as wine.

I don’t know about you, but I figure I only have enough capacity for a certain amount of alcohol in my life, and there’s more than enough beautiful wine to satisfy my thirst.

But when something special comes along, such as Lark Distillery’s single malt whisky finished in Seppeltsfield 100-year-old Para barrels, featured on The Real Review recently, I get excited—especially when there’s a winery involved. So when samples of Morris Single Malt Whiskies arrived, my tasting glass was at the ready.

Morris of Rutherglen is one of our very finest makers of fortified wines, especially barrel-matured muscats, tawnies and topaques. When Casella Family Brands, famous for Yellow Tail but who also own Peter Lehmann, Brand’s Laira and Bailey’s of Glenrowan, took over Morris in 2016, proprietor John Casella visited the winery and noticed the copper still that was gathering dust and hadn’t been fired up for 30 or 40 years, no-one can quite remember how long.

There was a time when most wineries produced fortified wines (then labelled as sherries, ports, etc) and many of them had a still in which they distilled their own fortifying spirit. Brandy is made from grape wine, and fortifying spirit likewise, so it made sense to distil your own alcohol from your leftovers.

Chatting to David Morris, the sixth generation Morris to run the winery, John Casella floated the idea of using the still to produce spirits.

Craft distillers Copper & Grain Distilling Co were brought in to produce the whisky, which they did using locally-grown barley and water from the Snowy Mountains. The barley was mashed and fermented at Casella’s Yenda brewery, and the ‘low wine’ was taken to Rutherglen and distilled by professional distiller Darren Peck.

The team has launched two whiskies, both of which were aged in barrels formerly used for maturing wine. One was finished in old muscat casks from the Morris Rutherglen winery.

They are *Morris Australian Single Malt Signature Whisky (AUD $95/700ml) and Morris Australian Single Malt Muscat Barrel Whisky (AUD $140/700ml). The former is 40% alcohol by volume, the latter 46%.

Morris is a venerable company, established in 1859 by George Morris (whose signature is on the whisky labels), and still making some of the world’s greatest fortified wines.

The still—for those with a technical bent—is an Australian-built Whitehill hybrid copper pot and column still. It was installed at the Morris winery in the early 1930s and used for producing fortifying spirit. It has been ‘meticulously’ restored, and, in reference to its ‘awakening after decades of slumber’ it’s been named Aurora, after the princess in Sleeping Beauty.

The Signature is medium to full amber—a typical malt whisky colour—while the Muscat Barrel is much darker, almost like a liqueur muscat, which seems to fit with the fruitcake note in the whisky.

The Signature’s bouquet is fine and not unlike a good Scotch malt, with some apparent peatiness – unlikely though this is in an Aussie whisky. It’s the more delicate spirit, complex and full of nutty and new-leather nuances. The Muscat Barrel is richer and ‘darker’ in its aromas and flavours, with hints of treacle and panforte, more powerful – partly due to its higher strength – with a long resonating aftertaste. Neither of them is oaky or heavy: they have a lovely lightness allied with intensity.

Two superb spirits, distinctly different in character. And it’s great to see an Aussie whisky of this quality that can be bought with an AUD $100 bill.

* Vanguard Luxury Brands is the exclusive Australian distributor of Morris whiskies. They are ranged in premium bars, retailers and restaurants across Australia.

Lark Distillery founder Bill Lark. Lark Distillery

Whisky is not usually my bailiwick, although I do love an aged malt. But when a great whisky comes along, produced by an Australian distiller, and involving casks that once held Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para, I weaken.

I make no excuses. This is a magnificent whisky, and it has a unique story.

Tasmania’s Lark Distilling is a pioneer—and a giant-killer, having won awards in competition against some of the famed distilleries of Scotland and elsewhere. It was established by Bill Lark in 1992 and claims to be Australia’s first craft whisky distiller. As the story goes, it was during a fishing trip in the Tasmanian highlands, surrounded by pure water, fields of barley and freshwater sphagnum peat, that Lark had the idea to create a world-class whisky from pristine Tasmanian ingredients.

And I know how chilly and in need of a dram you can be when stalking wild brown trout in those highlands. History doesn’t record whether Lark’s hip-flask ran out at a critical moment, or maybe what was in the flask didn’t measure up to his standards.

Lark’s shrewd move and quick success emboldened others to establish distilleries in Tasmania and the industry now has a full head of steam.

Lark recently also released its ‘rarest and oldest’ whisky yet, the 19-year-old Legacy. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I digress.

There is a fashion among Scottish malt whisky distillers to use casks that previously held other exalted drinks, both spirits and wines.

Glenmorangie have produced malts that have been finished in casks that contained American bourbon, Spanish sherry and Madeira Malmsey. Tullibardine finished a malt in Château de Chassagne-Montrachet casks.

The Lark PARA100 Vintage Tawny Cask is part of Lark’s Rare Cask Series. Lark managed to acquire two casks, which had each held Seppeltsfield’s 100-year old Para Vintage Tawny, and these casks were used to finish Lark’s PARA100 single malt whisky, leaving behind, as they say, exciting notes of the Para’s past lives. Before finishing in the Para casks, the whisky was aged for five years in ex-sherry, ex-port, and ex-bourbon casks.

Seppeltsfield Para Vintage Tawny is of course legendary. Produced in Seppeltsfield’s Barossa Valley winery, and believed to be the world’s only unbroken line of single-vintage wines dating back to 1878, Para was the brainchild of the visionary Benno Seppelt who laid down the first cask in 1878 and declared that it would not be bottled and sold until 100 years later.

Only 450 bottles of Lark PARA100 were produced, and it’s been aimed squarely at the collector market, retailing for AUD $1,000, and each specially-boxed 700ml bottle is accompanied by a 100ml flask so that you can sample the whisky without broaching your collector’s item.

For an extra bit of bling, there is a tiny copper medallion attached to the neck, fashioned from a piece of a decommissioned Lark copper pot still.

How does it taste?

In a word, spectacular.

The colour is deep mahogany and the bouquet is explosive, with lots of rancio character that reminds me more than a little of a very old tawny port. Burnished wood panelling, old leather chesterfields, dried fruits, spices including cinnamon and raisin bread, flake tobacco—really quite exquisite. In the mouth, the explosion is fully realised: a monumental blast of flavour that commands your full attention and lasts for several minutes on the aftertaste, thanks in part to the 56.3% alcohol content.

A rare spirit of great complexity and character.

Lark Rare Cask Series Single Malt Whisky, finished in Seppeltsfield Para 100 Vintage Tawny cask. Enquiries contact Lark Distillery.

Ecology + Co’s founders are Diana and Will Miller (pictured). Bob Campbell MW

When I discovered that there was a distillery a few minutes walk from my house I reacted with enthusiasm. My enthusiasm dampened slightly after learning that Ecology + Co specialise in making alcohol-free spirits, but when I tasted a very large, alcohol-free gin and tonic it was love at first sip. It tasted exactly like a very good gin and tonic but had zero alcohol, calories and sugar.

It was so good I couldn’t drink it. It was 11:00 am and I am socially conditioned not to consume a stiff gin and tonic until at least 5.00pm. It was weird. I knew that my drink was alcohol-free but my brain was saying “if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck … it must be a duck.” I guarantee that when the clock ticks past 5.00pm and I pour myself a sizeable glass of Ecology + Co’s London Dry with tonic I’ll feel slightly squiffy after drinking it. It’s called the voodoo effect.

Ecology + Co’s founders are Diana and Will Miller. Diana describes herself as a “party girl” who loves a good gin and tonic. She had to give up alcohol after developing a bad reaction to it, still liked to enjoy a drink at bars but didn’t like any of the non-alcohol alternatives. “Why can’t someone produce an alcohol-free G&T?” she moaned to Will. So, he did.

Ecology + Co makes two alcohol-free spirits: London Dry, my favourite, and Asian Spice, which is apparently appreciated by sophisticated cocktail drinkers. I like it, but not as much as the London Dry.

The distilling process is straight forward. The London Dry, for example, is a blend of cardamom, black pepper, cassia, lemon, lemon myrtle, cumin and basil. Diana and Will mix up a strong brew of each and distil them separately to recover a concentrated liquid essence. The challenging bit, I would imagine, is blending the components together to produce a delicious and consistent product.

Who buys it? Anyone who can’t, or doesn’t want to, drink alcohol but still wants a deliciously dry, calorie- and sugar-free cocktail. Add my name to the list (I fall into the occasional non-alcohol drinker category).

A 700ml bottle of London Dry or Asian Spice costs NZD $67, enough for 28 servings. Simply pour 25ml over ice and top up with tonic or soda. Diana and Will recommend Fever Tree tonic water with their London Dry and East Imperial Grapefruit or Yuza tonic water with Asian Spice. I like to serve London Dry with a twist of orange peel.

To purchase or learn more visit the Ecology + Co website.

Image: Bob Campbell MW

I enjoyed a fascinating and very educating saké tasting hosted by Fumi Nakatani, restaurant manager of Masu at Sky City in Auckland with help from saké enthusiast Sam Harrop MW. Fumi is the first and only New Zealand based professional to be awarded an international qualification in Saké from the London-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).

I visited a few saké breweries in Japan eight years ago (the photo at the head of this article was taken then and is of Mr Masuda at Tsudi-No-Katsura Saké Brewery).

I enjoy saké very much and have to say that the tasting with Fumi fuelled my passion for this wonderful drink. Most wine drinkers have tasted and enjoyed, or at least been fascinated by, saké. The barrier to embracing saké on a regular basis is the seemingly incomprehensible labels. How do you exercise judgement in ordering and drinking saké when you don’t know your Ginjo from your Junmai?

Here are a few tips that I hope will encourage you to add saké to your shopping list.

I should start by saying that Masu restaurant is a great starting point for anyone interested in learning more about saké. The food is sensational (we tasted a wide cross-section with the saké samples), the staff both knowledgeable and helpful and the saké list comprehensive. At Masu, they sell as much saké as they do red wine. That’s hardly surprising when you look at the list, which helpfully groups saké under the headings; “delicate, feminine, pure”, “floral, fruity, aromatic”, “rich, earthy, spicy, umami” and “unique, fun, alternative”.

You can order saké by the 750ml bottle or 180ml carafe. All are imported from Japan by Masu. They also have a list of saké that can be enjoyed warm, although they believe as I do that saké tastes best chilled. For NZD $35 you can buy a tasting flight of four saké (40ml each) handpicked by Fumi.

Probably the most important terms to remember are Ginjo and Daiginjo. Daiginjo means that at least 50% of the outer layer of the rice has been polished off. The outer layer is made up of fats, proteins and minerals, which can contribute to harsher flavours. Daiginjo saké tends to be lighter, more delicate and fruitier than Ginjo saké (60% or less of the original rice) or Honjozo saké (70% or less of the original rice). The larger the grain of rice (that is, the less it has been polished) the more flavoursome the saké tends to be with richer and more savoury characters.

Sweetness is shown by the nihonshu-do or saké meter value. It ranges from -5 (sweet) to +12 (very dry) with +3 to +5 being the normal range.

Other terms that might be helpful and sometimes appear on exported Saké are:

• Tokubetsu, meaning “special”
• Koshu “aged”
• Honjozo “added alcohol”

Saké is a complicated beverage. Don’t try to figure it out yourself. Go to Masu. Ask the waiter for help. Enjoy.

Juniper Berries Toni Paterson MW

It was not that long ago that big brands dominated the spirit scene. However, just as craft beer revolutionised the beer industry, artisanal spirits have captured the heart of minds of sommeliers, mixologists and curious consumers.

And none more so than gin. In the 2017 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards, there were almost eighty gin entries, up from eighteen two years earlier.

Gin is certainly attractive from a manufacturing point of view. A rather lucrative business involving a relatively simple production process involving the extraction of flavours and aromas from plant derived ‘botanicals’ into a neutral spirit.

Distillers love to make gin because it is creative, relatively easy, profitable and quick to market. And spirit aficionados enjoy the sense of discovery, taste and image.

There’s almost no such thing as a standard G&T anymore in hip bars and high-end restaurants. Top establishments offer a host of options, with synergistic tonics and garnishes.

Why are consumers so fascinated with artisanal spirits? With a host of products now available, many prefer handcrafted, unique, local products which they can connect with over big volume, impersonal, mass-market labels.

Dasher + Fisher, produced by the Southern Wild Distillery in Tasmania is a new player on the Australian gin scene, co-owned by food scientist George Burgess and the Hirst family. Greg Logan, one of the directors, has been instrumental in the branding and packaging. It’s a slick operation with big plans, underpinned by high-quality product.

Burgess is the distiller, self-taught in his craft though armed with production, quality assurance and operational skills. He has worked with dairy giant Fonterra, the seaweed extract company Marinova and the pharmaceutical poppy industry.

Burgess is an affable Tasmanian with an inquisitive mind, entrepreneurial outlook, a passion for complex flavours and an enthusiasm for process. His interest in spirits started with whisky and grew from there. He perfected his methods and ingredients until he created his ultimate gin. He talks about the importance of the umami core and speaks of building layers into his gin as perfumers do with fragrance.

Along with juniper, each of the Dasher + Fisher gins contains over ten different botanicals including Tasmanian seaweed, lavender and native pepperberry. Burgess refers to these are the “Tassie Trio”, and the concentrations vary in the different gins.

Burgess places great value on his supplier relationships and farmers will spontaneously drop into the distillery with different botanicals for him to use.

Rather than aiming for homogeneity, Burgess embraces the seasonal variability that exists with some ingredients. For example, either Valencia or Navel oranges are used depending on the time of year, imprinting a subtle seasonal accent on style. Burgess likes to think of it as a ‘snapshot in time’, reflective of region and season. He uses a single shot distillation method to achieve this.

There are three core gins in the Dasher + Fisher range.

Ocean, their ‘coastal gin’, has high amounts of seaweed, with subtle yet complex notes of fragrant rose and chamomile. It is sweet-natured, soft and gentle, with wafting floral top notes and subtle pepperberry. The recommended garnish is a slice of radish. Burgess calls it a “sipping gin”, though it’s also good with tonic or in a martini. The distillation technique used is simultaneous vapour infusion and maceration.

Meadow, a modern style, is focused on lavender and balanced by citrus, rosemary, bay and sage. It is savoury, complex and expressive with spice and sweet orange. Burgess calls it his “herb garden in a glass”. Serve neat with a twist of grapefruit or use in a Negroni.

Mountain, which they call a Tasmanian Dry Gin, is the boldest of the three with pepperberry the champion. Rich, spicy and exotic, with excellent depth and persistence throughout the length of the palate. If serving neat, throw in a sprig of lavender for balance.

The copper still, designed by Burgess, allows the botanicals to be placed in three different zones. With his new-found knowledge a joint venture company, Stillsmiths was established to manufacture stills with a short lead time.

One can visit the distillery in Devonport and sample the Dasher + Fisher products at the Southern Wild Lounge + Bar or partake in a tutored gin workshop. Enjoy live music on weekends with bar food and visiting food trucks. There are plans to relocate to Providore Place, inside Devonport’s Living City development in late 2017. Future range extension will include the production of whisky.

The three Dasher + Fisher gins are distributed nationally and are available in restaurants, online and through independent liquor outlets. A sampler pack of Ocean, Meadow and Mountain is also available. The individual gins (700ml) and sample packs (3 x 200ml) retail for AUD $90.

Southern Wild Distillery

• Address: 17 Fenton Way, Devonport. TAS. 7310. +61 3 6423 5981
• Email: enquiries@southernwilddistillery.com
• Website: www.southernwilddistillery.com

Dasher + Fisher gin range Dasher + Fisher

You have to admire their ambition. The price of AUD $90 for 700ml immediately lobs start-up Aussie gin Dasher + Fisher into the big league, above even Hendricks and Tanqueray No 10. But these Tasmanian gins are very fine indeed.

My intro came via Ben Moechtar, a highly respected former Sydney sommelier whose previous gig was running the excellent Spanish tapas joint Delicado Foods in Blues Point Road, McMahons Point, Sydney. Moechtar is now doing sales and marketing for Dasher + Fisher, a trio of gins from Devonport, Tasmania. They are produced by the Southern Wild Distillery in Devonport, which also has a cellar door and wine bar in the north-western Tassie town. Devonport is where the Melbourne ferry pulls in, which is probably strategic. It also gives access to what is described as very pure water, from snow-melt in the Cradle Mountain area, as well as site-specific botanicals, to wit, wakame seaweed from the sea, native pepperberries and lavender from the land.

The trio of gins are innovatively conceived and named. Mountain Gin is based on pepperberries; Meadow Gin is based on lavender, and Ocean Gin is based on wakame. You can buy them individually for AUD $90 for 700ml, or a cute gift box of 200ml bottles of all three, also priced at AUD $90.

The gift box is fun. Not only do they make good cocktails, they taste good neat and comparing them is fascinating.

I liked them equally, but they were all quite different. Here are my impressions, and please bear in mind that I’m no expert at tasting gin. Just because I describe the aroma as I perceive it doesn’t mean that’s what’s in the gin.

Dasher + Fisher Mountain Gin

11 botanicals, including “pepperberries and herbs found on the way to Cradle Mountain”. Lovely clean, fresh, pristine aroma with strong elements of cassia bark, also sandalwood, the palate very intense and penetrating, very long and pristinely clean. A fair bit of after-heat. Excellent. (45% alcohol).

Dasher + Fisher Meadow Gin

15 botanicals, including “lavender, oranges and herbs picked from local gardens and fields”. Again very clean, fresh, and pristine with definite orange/citrus elements, but much more than that – very complex and fascinating. Again very long and warming. Superb. (45% alcohol).

Dasher + Fisher Ocean Gin

12 botanicals, including “wakame seaweed, harvested in the chilly Tasman sea. It flaunts a clean, salty, smooth sophistication”. Very spicy gin aromas, complex and fragrant; it’s hard to isolate specific aromas except it’s spicy with plenty of cinnamon and juniper. Not sure I can taste the wakame. The palate seems sweeter and fuller than the other two D+F gins, and it is quite a different style. (42% alcohol).

All highly recommended.

Archie Rose X Horisumi Autumn Gin Toni Paterson

In the words of Irish poet, Jonathon Swift,

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.”

Either Dave Withers, master distiller at Archie Rose is a visionary for creating a gin inspired by a tattoo, or founder Will Edwards is a marketing mastermind?

The Sydney micro-distillery has teamed up with Sydney tattoo artist Kian Forreal, also known as Horisumi, to launch a range of gins inspired by the seasons of Japan.

The first in the range is Autumn, inspired by Horisumi’s tattoo illustration of a Kiku flower, also known as a chrysanthemum; falling maple leaves; and koi, which according to legend, transforms into a dragon through perseverance.

Withers uses this striking design to create a spirit reflective of a Japanese autumn, using botanicals such as red miso, sesame and Sancho pepper, both the leaves and the seeds. Burdock root is used to add a little earthiness. Juniper, which is normally at the forefront of gin, plays a supporting role.

Individual distillation of each botanical allows Withers to have ultimate control when it comes to blending and achieving the desired style.

It is a distinctively spicy gin, with prominent pepper notes on the nose, inherent spice and savoury undertones. Though there’s also a mesmerising citrus character which gives freshness and clarity. The underlying spirit is clean, sweet and bright and the finish is gently warming. Individual, satisfying and complex, it is a spirit which certainly captures the transitional nature of autumn in its flavour profile.

Production of the Archie Rose X Horisumi Autumn Gin (AUD $99) is strictly limited. So, best to get in quick as winter is fast approaching. I mainly remember bare tree branches on my snowy trip to Japan, which would make a fairly bleak tattoo. Camellias and early plum blossoms perhaps? Time will tell.

Having done some cross-tasting exercises, involving other well-known gins, I’m able to see his point of view. I do enjoy some of the gins that the more gin-soaked probably frown upon, such as Bombay Sapphire, but Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is much more “look at me” than common-or-garden gins. It is kind of the Marlborough sauvignon blanc of gins, it’s so perfumed and pungently fragrant. In that, it has some similarity to the gin I initially wrote about on this blog, in mid-May, which was the Sydney-distilled Archie Rose Signature Dry (42% alc). Like Archie Rose, Four Pillars is high-strength (41.8%), and is highly flavoured with what smells like a wide array of botanicals. It’s produced in the Yarra Valley.

There are nine botanicals, including fresh organic oranges, Tasmanian pepper, finger limes, lemon myrtle, and of course juniper berries. The base spirit is high-strength Australian wheat spirit purchased from a distiller at Bomaderry. This is then re-distilled in the Yarra Valley with the botanicals in Four Pillars’ own Carl still, whose nickname is Wilma. It is cut back to bottling strength with Yarra Valley water, which the company describes as the world’s cleanest. If it’s taken out of the Yarra River, it’s obviously done higher up than Melbourne.

The gin is delicious, and I love its extreme fragrance and its out-there personality. And yes, I concede, it goes beautifully with 2:1 Fever-tree tonic water and a couple of ice cubes.