Toast to Australia
These 10 craft spirits put local flavours front and centre. By Fred Siggins
Australia now boasts well over 600 distilleries, representing an unprecedented explosion of local spirits production. Mostly operating on a tiny craft scale, the level of creativity and innovation in our local spirits industry is unmatched the world over, incorporating local flavours and unusual techniques that the big multinational producers would never dare to attempt. Here are 10 of our favourite left-field local products well worth a spot in the liquor cabinet.
Backwoods Distilling Co.
Redgum Rye Whisky
The only rye whisky in the world matured in native Australian redgum casks, this is a truly unique regional Victorian whisky and a brilliant expression of local grain and timber. The combination of local heritage rye spirit and red gum barrels made from wood reclaimed from old Barossa Valley wine vats makes for a whisky drinking experience like no other.
$195 (500ml)
Marionette
Nocino
The team at Marionette produce a range of excellent liqueurs from high-quality Australian fruit and carefully selected brandy, meaning you never have to buy sugary, artificially flavoured imports again. Their Nocino is a local interpretation of the classic Italian green walnut liqueur. This version uses walnuts from a Yarra Ranges orchard, which bring this bittersweet digestif to life. Have it alongside an espresso after a big meal.
$60 (500ml)
Gypsy Whisky Co.
Local Absinthe
With so many native botanicals to work with, it makes perfect sense to make a uniquely Australian version of the world’s most mythologised spirit. This Tasmanian absinthe strikes a balance between something to drink on its own, or to use in cocktails. Combining traditional botanicals like wormwood, anise and fennel with orange peel and native lemon myrtle, it’s a brilliant absinthe with an Australian twist. Don’t worry, it won’t make you hallucinate!
$95 (500ml)
Schnapps Idea Distillery
Pear (Packham Edition) Schnapps
This Victorian distillery is making some of the very best fruit spirits in Australia right now. And given the quality of the fruit we grow here, it’s a good thing our booze producers are starting to catch on. This schnapps literally tastes like the distilled essence of fresh Packham pears, which is not an easy thing to do. It’s just as good as any of the traditional fruit spirits produced in Europe.
$85 (500ml)
Saint Felix Distillery
Yuzu and Green Tea Spirit
Saint Felix Distillery has thrown off the notion that spirits need to stick within traditional categories like whisky or gin and are simply making booze with flavour combinations they love. Here we have a balanced blend of yuzu and sencha green tea accented with warming spice derived from cassia bark and ginger and softened with jasmine flower. Drink it with soda and a slice of lemon or serve on the rocks.
$70 (700ml)
Seven Seasons
Green Ant Gin
If you’re looking to surprise international visitors and support an Indigenous-owned business, Seven Seasons has you covered. Its Green Ant Gin has real green ants in every bottle, hand harvested on Larrakia country in the Top End. Partly owned by AFL legend and proud Larrakia man Daniel Motlop, Seven Seasons showcases the flavours he grew up with, each harvested according to the traditional seasonal cycles of Australia’s tropical north. The gin itself is bright and fresh, each little ant offering a lime and pepper pop when you eat it.
$100 (700ml)
Bass & Flinders Distillery
Firetree Cinnamon Myrtle Liqueur
Bass & Flinders, in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula region, is mostly known for making excellent brandy and gin, but if you want the world’s classiest version of Fireball, its Firetree Cinnamon Myrtle Liqueur offers a palate of warmly spiced heat balanced with a lingering sweetness. Made with a premium blend of all natural spices, this liqueur leads with cinnamon myrtle, an Australian native tree species which grows in Eastern Australia subtropical rainforests and produces oils that have a cinnamon-like aroma.
$62 (500ml)
Hermetica Distillery
White Agave
There are now several Australian versions of tequila – Mexico’s number one spirit – on the market, but we can’t call it that because it’s a protected term. Expect to see a lot of “Australian agave” hitting the shelves in coming years. One of the best examples is Hermetica Distillery’s White Agave, made in Victoria’s Yarra Valley, which sports all the white pepper spice and vegetal freshness you’d expect from a high-quality tequila. No lime, salt, or celebrity endorsement required.
$70 (700ml)
Beechworth Bitters Company
In The Weeds Herbal Liqueur
Chef Michael Ryan of two-hatted regional restaurant Provenance in Beechworth, Victoria, got a little bored during lockdown, so as a cocktail lover, he started making his own amari, liqueurs and cocktail bitters with what he could grow or forage in the local area. In The Weeds is his very Aussie version of Chartreuse made with nettle, dandelion, citrus leaves, gum leaves and many different herbs.
$85 (500ml)
7K Distillery
World’s Hottest Carolina Reaper Gin
Made with Carolina Reaper chilli peppers, the hottest natural chilli in the world, this Tasmanian spirit claims to be the world’s hottest gin. This tiny bottle of liquid fire is created by infusing a juniper-heavy gin at 66.6% ABV with Carolina Reapers. Sold with a whole chilli left in the bottle to infuse further, this gin is not for the faint-hearted (but great in a bloody mary).
$60 (200ml)
This is an extract from an article that appears in print in our thirteenth edition, Page 66 of Winning Magazine with the headline: “Toast to Australia”. Subscribe to Winning Magazine today.
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