Review: Karu Morita Chipotle Vodka

If you wanted to encounter what the face of the new generation of Aussie spirits makers look like, you wouldn’t need to go further than the dynamic couple of Nick and Ally.

With their vibrant branding and a fresh take on gins, vodkas and rum, they’ve come a long way since starting up in 2018, and have received national and international recognition for this contemporary spirit expressions.

Let’s get to know them.

Please tell us about the genesis about you starting your venture.

As most people in their mid 20s can relate, life hits you at a point where you just think “what am I doing?” , that’s where we were.

Over a glass of whisky we asked the question “If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?” the thought that someone made what we were drinking became a realization that became life altering for us.

Not being bale to get that realization out of our heads we started investigating what exactly it takes to become that person that makes what is in the glass. We travelled a lot and dug for information in every waking hour of the morning, whilst getting ready for work, on the way to work, after work, before bed and soon enough our leisure time was spent going over every page of books, the internet, talking to industry professionals, distillers (there weren’t many out there at the time).

We decided that we’d commit to this venture and see what it takes ( A LOT ) and started applying for licenses and permissions etc, found the name we wanted to call ourselves, all whilst working our full-time jobs still, and got the ball rolling. Our first gin, Affinity Gin, immediately picked up a 300 bottle subscription nationwide which opened the door for a lot of opportunities.

Being, and still remaining an independent brand, we would be working all day and night, come to the distillery in-between to make gin, sleep on the floor or a shelf at the distillery, then go out and do tastings whilst getting changed in the car out of distillery clothes. We went full-time not long after and started adding to our range.

Not coming from a background of distillation we wanted professional feedback and entered in highly regarded competitions to which resulted in our gin placing very high, this also set us on the right path for industry success.

Can you share something about the local ingredients What makes some special for you to work with?
Fresh is typically best, especially when you vapour infuse spirits, it’s a lot less work for the botanicals to do, so where ever we can we use fresh produce. We are situated in an agricultural area so we are spoilt with citrus choices. We also grow Rose Geranium, Pomegranate, lemon myrtle & mandarin at our distillery, so those come off the trees and straight into the basket when in season. The Rose Geranium is particularly special to us, it’s the plant Ally had as a kid (clipped from the very same plant we use) so it holds a lot of personal significance to us.

How do you recommended people enjoy your vodka?

Morita has become one of our favourites to have a session with, it’s the one everyone in the team cannot really say no to, the crowd favourite is the Morita Grapefruit Soda with a squeeze of lime combo. It’s just super refreshing, super easy to make (and enjoy). It gets us going! In saying that we really enjoy a Morita Margarita, it’s as fun to say as it is to drink.

Can you share something about the production process?
Sure can! Ourproduction process for Morita is the same as our gins, we use vapour infusion so you get a lot more delicate vegetal notes. We de-seed every chilli to take out some bitterness and the light buzz heat from the alcohol content mimics spice heat without it being intense. For us we really didn’t want this to be a spicy spirit which we think when people hear “chipotle vodka” they expect it, but we like to shake things up a bit.

The spent botanicals for Morita are never enough to keep up with the collaboration demands, we are lucky we have been given chipotle sausages, salts, rubs, chutneys and an array of awesome hot sauces from the leftovers.

It must be challenging being a craft maker in any location, so what gets you out of bed every day?
What makes us get out of bed everyday is that Karu gets out of bed for us. Everyday is a school day and we believe you are never really done learning, so everyday we try to learn something new, experiment a bit, Karu is the platform to keep our brains alive and us on our toes, We cannot remember the last time we had the luxury of being bored!

The moments where someone has your spirits and they tell you “this is my favourite” or ” this is the spirit I share with all my friends at gatherings”, truly, that’s what gets us out of bed. It’s an unparalleled inspiration.

What / who is inspiring you this week?
Ha, we have a few, but one that stands out loud and proud is probably Ben and the team at the Wild Cat conservation centre whom we do our “Wilding: Jubatus” gin for. For anyone that doesn’t know they are the only conservation centre in Australia and one of the world’s insurance policies so the Cheetah species doesn’t go extinct. They dedicate their life to this cause.

This year saw their first captive bred cheetah released into the wild as a self sustainable cat and she is doing incredibly well out there. We wanted to support their efforts so we made them a gin inspired by the origin of this cat where the proceeds go towards their breeding & rewilding program, since “Wilding: Jubatus Dry Gin” has been released they have welcomed two cubs into the program. The Wild Cat Conservation Centre just sparked a little something in us that we thought was gone for a very long time and got us excited about what we as a spirits brand can do to make a positive impact globally.

What’s next in the pipeline?
We are doing some more R&D for rum projects so we will be expanding eventually what rum in our range looks like, we already have our Pure Single Rum, Specialty Casks Release series which we are keeping but there is a lot to look forward to there on what is to come, so if you want to know earlier, subscribe to our newsletters and follow our socials.

Tasting Notes

Nose: some heat and the promise of chilli, clean overall and little spirit volatility.

Taste: as promised on the label, subtle chilli and chipotle flavours in a good balance over a clean and good weighted base spirit and a generous mouthfeel.

This a fun expression and they suggest a Bloody Mary, and I’d like to see it in the Canadian gift to the cocktail world: a Ceasar which features Clamato juice!

If Southwest flavours are your thing, look out for this vodka.

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