For Australian gin, it is the best of times and the worst of times.
“Gin has all these dark connotations,” says Grant Collins, the founder of Gin Lane, a Sydney bar that carries more than 250 varieties of gin. The six spirits he has selected for us to try are no exception – sourced from independent distilleries, they’re a snapshot of the vagaries of 2020.
Some of the gins are from distilleries located right by last summer’s fire fronts, while others were affected by Victoria’s months-long Covid-19 shutdowns, and more recently, Adelaide’s shutdowns. All have faced cellar-door or bar closures at some point this year.
But all represent something exciting as well – a craft-spirits industry that’s gaining international acclaim for well-balanced drops and innovative use of local botanicals. As one of our tasters notes: “Each of these gins is like a postcard from the place it was made.”
“Australian gin is in a great place at the moment,” says Collins. “We do get a lot of people coming in who say they don’t like gin.” Often, he says, the bar is able to convert them. “Some say they’re allergic to gin, but we find out that the allergy is the juniper berries. They probably drank a bit too much of it one night … and you can brush your teeth 20 times and still find that the juniper taste just doesn’t go away.”
Collins explains that Australian juniper, unlike its European counterpart, tends to be much softer in taste – “less astringent and bitter” – making it a good gateway for the gin-phobic among us. “We have a lot of gins that are quite soft in juniper – not every gin has to be super junipery.” That being said, we are going to try some gins “that have big, juniper tastes today”.
Of our four taste-testers, two are already gin drinkers and two prefer dark spirits. Their assignment is to try and guess the botanicals in the gins that we’re tasting, and pick their favourites.
Something Wild Beverage Co: Green Ant Gin
From: South Australia, distilled using green ants harvested by Something Wild co-owners the Motlop family, in the Northern Territory.
About the gin: Made with native juniper, finger lime, strawberry gum and pepper berry, it is easy to guess this gin’s “signature” botanical, since the titular green ants are still floating around in the bottle.
Awards: Gold at the San Francisco Spirits Awards, 2018
What our tasters say: “It’s making my eyes water, smelling it!”
“I’m getting very intense citrus.”
“It’s a little bit spicy!”
And, after eating one of the green ants: “Not at all what I thought it would taste like! It’s sweet, it has a freshness.”
The verdict: Collins says the gin is a bestseller at his bar and a good entry-level gin for the juniper-averse. Our tasters agreed, with most saying it was one of their favourites.
Drink: In a G&T or on the rocks
Kangaroo Island Spirits: O’Gin
From: Kangaroo Island, South Australia
About the gin: Kangaroo Island Spirits is a microdistillery, making just 45 bottles per batch, “which is insane, when you think about how larger distillers makes millions of litres” per batch, notes Collins. During the bushfires last year, the distillery was forced to evacuate, move all their product and close temporarily, as the fires came within 4km of their business. Their O’Gin is a London dry style, made with European juniper berries and coastal daisy bush sourced from Kangaroo Island.
Awards: Double Gold Medal, SIP Awards (consumer choice) 2018
What our tasters say: “You can really taste the cardamom!”
“I can taste the ginger.”
“There’s a bitterness to it.”
“[With tonic] it’s more floral forward, neat it was very spicy.”
Could they guess the signature botanical? No.
The verdict: This gin wasn’t beloved by the non-gin drinkers in our tasting group. But those who regularly drink gin and tonics say it makes a great one.
Drink: In a G&T or martini
Karu Distillery: Lightning Gin
From: Blue Mountains, New South Wales
About the gin: This navy-strength gin packs a punch, with an ABV of 57.5%, a lot of juniper, and rose geranium as its signature botanical. The distillery was forced to close during the summer bushfires, as a fire front raged just 10km from its location in Grose Vale.
Awards: Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards 2019
What our tasters say: “It tastes like whiskey.”
“It tastes like alcohol!”
“It’s very intense, isn’t it?”
“You can feel it on your lips afterwards.”
Could they guess the signature botanical? No, but after being told, one of our tasters remarked: “I’ve never eaten a geranium, but I grown them, and I can kind of get it.”
The verdict: For one non-gin drinker, “Drinking this one by itself is the nicest – I would drink that over ice.” Everyone agreed it would make a delicious – but very powerful – martini. “You’d have to be on your guard,” warns Collins.
Drink: Over ice or in a martini – in moderation
Reed & Co: Remedy Gin
From: Bright, Victoria
About the gin: This complex gin is flavoured with eucalyptus, lemon myrtle and lemon verbena, as well as shiso leaf, a herb common in Japanese cooking that gives the gin a distinct salinity. Its alpine distillery has had a tough year, as it was affected by both bushfire evacuations and Victoria’s long battle with Covid-19.
What our tasters say: “Is it weird that the first thing I smelled is salt?”
“It tastes sweeter to me.”
“This one was really hard to get.”
“It tastes like it’d be good with cucumber.”
Could they guess the botanicals? Yes. One of our tasters remarked “I smell lemon verbena”; and while no one could name the shiso leaf, everyone picked up on its taste.
The verdict: This one was a favourite for one of our non-gin drinkers, who exclaimed “I love that!” the moment she tasted it with tonic.
Drink: This gin is flexible, and works in G&Ts, martinis and neat.
Patient Wolf: Melbourne Dry Gin
From: Melbourne, Victoria
About the gin: An Australian take on a London dry gin; this one is extra peppery, with cubeb pepper, tonka beans and ruby grapefruit.
Awards: Gold, Australian Gin Awards 2019
What our tasters say: “It’s peppery.”
“It’s got that numbing taste. Like Sichuan peppers.”
“It tastes sort of bitter to me.”
“With tonic it started to taste almost like Berocca.”
Could they guess the botanicals? No one could place the tonka beans, but they did pick up on the citrus and peppers.
The verdict: Our tasters found this gin a bit too spicy neat; but “With the tonic I’d drink it all day,” one of our regular gin drinkers said. “It tastes good,” said one of our non-gin drinkers, once tonic was added.
Drink: With tonic, or in a martini.
23rd St Distillery: Signature Gin
From: Renmark, South Australia
About the gin: Inspired by the Riverland region in which it is made, this gin is made with locally grown mandarin, coriander, lime and European juniper. It also happens to be one of Australia’s most awarded bottles.
Awards: Gold, World Gin Awards 2020
What our tasters say: “That’s completely different!”
“To me it tastes very classic gin – it seems smooth and light.”
“It’s not a challenging gin.”
“Is there aniseed?”
Could they guess the botanicals: No.
The verdict: This gin is a favourite among critics and experts – including Collins – who love it for its sophisticated layers of flavours. For our tasters, it was the last of the day, and palate fatigue had set in, making it hard to note the flavours.
Grant Collins’ tasting tips
Start neat
Although it’s not usual to drink gin neat, at room temperature, if you want to get the full sense of a gin’s bouquet, it’s the way to go. Once you’ve had a small sip and let the flavour linger on your palate, you can add tonic, lime, cucumber, ice – or whatever else appeals.
Check your tonic
These days, a lot of tonics have the same amount of sugar as a can of Coke, says Collins. And many no longer contain quinine either. Collins recommends reading the label before you buy, and picking a tonic that’s low in sugar (“it lets the botanicals sing out”) and uses traditional ingredients.
Collins says there are plenty of high-quality tonics available at most bottle shops – his go-to is Fever-Tree as “you can get it anywhere”.
The golden ratio
The ideal gin and tonic should be one part gin to three parts tonic; and the ice is almost as important as the tonic itself. Collins recommends making your own ice rather than buying it from the servo.
For next-level ice, Collins suggests a technique called “triple freezing”, where you freeze a cube, remove it from the freezer for half an hour until the ice starts to melt, and then freeze it again, repeating that process twice. This results in ice that’s very clear and very hard. “You can easily drink two gin and tonics with that ice, and it won’t melt,” he says.
• This taste-test was conducted on 16 December. Gins were procured by Gin Lane on behalf of Guardian Australia, from suppliers and third-party distributors
