Well as Tom Cruise said in Top Gun Maverick, “it’s been a minute Mav” when hopping into an old fighter jet. I suppose you may have been wondering what I’ve been doing these past months and been somewhat quiet time on the website. Sorry about that, I’ll explain. I started out with good intentions with
With the current gin boom showing no sign of slowing down with close to 500 gin producers in the country now, only about 60 or more are created by Australian women according to the Women of Australian Distillers website. ]So it takes a certain amount of bravery and self-belief to dive into the sea of
I don’t know about you, but we are getting creative in staying connected these days. Due to you know what, I’ve had dozens of live cocktail and spirits events large and small been put on ice or worse, but I hope to be able to resume normal transmission soon, as I’m sure you are. But
Parallel to the emergence of hundreds of spirit brands in the recent years in Australia has been the introduction of ingredients to complement them. These might be bitters, vermouth, or tonic waters. In the case of the latter, there are two styles available on the market, the well known clear, carbonated style where you simply
A few years ago I had the pleasure of taking the road less travelled whilst driving about Tasmania. The tiny hamlet of Ouse in Western Tasmania only has a few hundred souls, but not far from there is the beautiful working farm and distillery Lawrenny situated on the banks of the Derwent River. Owned by
Welcome to the new year! If you follow me on my Instagram or Facebook page you would have seen my daily posts during December of a different Aussie gin that was featured in the Gintonica Advent Calendar Disclosure- I’m engaged by the nice folk at Gintonica to do this service. Tough work, but someone has
It’s been another big year for Australian craft gin. At the time of writing I’ve some 260 gin makers listed on my website, with many more to come in 2020. So to wrap the 2019 reviewing year, it’s a look at this small batch release from Tasmania from a new small distillery. Sandy Gray Gin
I did get about this year, and as you know, finding a good, let alone a great Martini in the wild is rare. Which is why they should be celebrated when you come across them. Even at home, maybe 3 in 10 I make really shine and hold my attention! After all, so many things
Australia has been a Federation made up of several States and Territories since 1901. Like most unions of this sort, Federation usually involves a lot of compromise. We’re a big country (the size of the USA basically) with a small population (25 million) and very diverse landscapes and climate. So when Tasmanian distillery, McHenry and
If you’ve travelled across Bass Strait to Tasmania from Melbourne you’ll know that you hop off/on at Devonport on the island’s northern shore. Usually, once off the ferry folks make a beeline for the charms of that beautiful place, they rarely linger in the town itself. Well, thanks to the team at Southern Wild Distillery,
Every June 10 Gin fans around the world stage their own events to celebrate their spirit of the times. The gin craze shows no sign of slowing down (I read somewhere recently that there’s 3 new gin releases every day around the world!), but there’s still work to do in introducing the great spirits with
Vodka has an image problem. This cultural icon that emerged out of necessity from the Slavic soul in the cold and bleakness of a harsh life gave hope, or eased the sorrows of a life we can’t imagine. So now, we have triple, five times distilled with scantily clad women draped just so…. images of shallowness,
One night I wandered into a bar. But not just any bar, but the pioneering and all round good time place, Bad Frankies in Fitzroy Melbourne. This was the first place in Australia to stock exclusively all Aussie products across the board. So generally I’m pretty plugged into the craft spirit scene, but when in doubt I’d
When award winning expert Single Malt distillers turned their minds to crafting a gin you can expect a singular spirt. Tasmania Distillery, who produces Hobart No. 4 Gin are the team who create the world’s best Single Malt Whisky, Sullivans Cove. I’ve heard cynics say that making a gin is a good business strategy to
2015 was a vintage year for Australian gins with over 25 new labels released from new or existing distilleries. A record for Australia I think. As I’ve surveyed these gin releases I’ve been struck by three things: There is a real spirit of supportive collaboration between makers, they understand that all boats can rise together Whilst
Its reassuring to know that you can match your gin to the seasons. Beyond the main styles of gin such as London Dry, Old Tom, Sloe, Aged etc, there is also a newish sub-category of gin that I’ll dub ‘Seasonal Gins’. The idea is that they are a variation on the main gin product for
At the time of writing this, my part of the country is enjoy weather courtesy of Antarctica. So it was perfect timing that I was sent a bottle of this new release from Nonesuch Distillery in South East Tasmania of their first product, Sloe Gin. This style of gin is a very old variety, and
I reckon 2015 will go down as a vintage year for new Australian gin releases. The momentum for new (see list here) labels from around the country shows no sign of slowing down as new players and existing ones take advantage of the moment. As I discussed in my recent post on World Gin Day,
From Tasmania comes a new Gin using Tasmania purity and the skill of distiller William McHenry. In my ongoing survey of Australian Gins, whilst I applauded the bold use of native botanicals + flavours in most brands as part of the New World genre of Gin, I always thought there was an opportunity in the market
Now, this is obviously going to be a subjective exercise, we all have our favourites, and some have deeper pockets than others, but here’s my list of what I have on regular rotation that covers 90% of my Martini drinking scenarios. The list also covers the key bases of the modern London Dry style experience, so
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