In a few weeks I’m off to Perth, Western Australia, to see some friends and soak up some winter sun.
When I think of Australian gin I tend to think of the likes of Four Pillars, and others from Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Western Australia, however, can more than fight it’s corner as, while it lacks in the quantity of distilleries, it more than makes up for with quality of gin. Several of their distilleries have achieved top accolades from the global spirit community.
The West Winds Distillery
- One of the most highly regarded is The West Winds distillery in Margaret River, a region that is most well known for its wine production. Established in 2010, they distill Australia’s most awarded gins. The Cutlass and The Sabre won double gold and gold respectively at the 2011 San Francisco International Spirits Convention, with The Cutlass winning double gold again at the same event in 2013.
Twitter: @TheWestWindsGin
Facebook: The West Winds Gin
Web: thewestwindsgin.com
UK stockist: Master of Malt and Gin Kiosk
Margaret River Distilling Co.
- Also in Margaret River are Giniversity (produced at Margaret River Distilling Co.). Giniversity is the gin offering from Limeburners who’ve been producing single malt whisky legally in SW Australia for longer than anyone else. They produce a London Dry; a Botanical gin with sandalwood, lemon myrtle and eucalypt; and a delicious sounding Barrel-aged gin.
Twitter: @LimeburnersWA
Facebook: Giniversity
Web: distillery.com.au
UK stockist: n/a
The Grove Distillery
- Over at The Grove distillery, another from Margaret River, their gin won gold at the Melbourne International Spirit Competition. It’s a traditional London Dry and sticks to just 6 botanicals: juniper berry, angelica root, lemon, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander. If it ain’t broke…
Twitter: N/A
Facebook: The Grove Distillery
Web: thegrovedistillery.com.au
UK stockist: n/a
Hippocampus Metropolitan Distillery
- Now, this is an honorary shout to Hippocampus Gin who up until recently were Perth-based, however are now located in Melbourne. Despite only releasing their gin in late 2015 they have already got gold awards to their name. It’s a juniper-led gin, distilled in their 450ltr German-made copper still called Kylie with botanicals which are macerated overnight to ensure for maximum flavour. This comes from the likes of orange and lemon peel, coriander and cubeb pepper.
Twitter: @Hippocampusmd
Facebook: Hippocampus Metropolitan Distillery
Web: hippocampusmd.com.au
UK stockist: n/a
High Spirits Distillery
- Staying in Perth, you’ve got also got the even newer: High Spirits Distillery (not to be confused with Mile High Spirits) with their first batch only released in the last few months. Made; bottled; and labeled by hand, brothers Michael and Jade produce just 1 gin and 1 vodka. Their Dry Gin combines vapour-infused traditional botanicals such as coriander, orris root, angelica root, and cassia. The simple illustration on the label design is really subtle and elegant too.
Twitter: @DistilleryHs
Facebook: High Spirits Distillery
Web: highspiritsdistillery.com.au
UK stockist: n/a
Old Youngs Distillery
- Heading slightly out of Perth into the Swan Valley you’ve got Old Youngs, founded in 2016. Their gins and vodkas are multiple-award winning and span some incredible flavours. The 4 gins they offer include their 1827 and 1829 gins, with 100% Australian sugar cane spirit bases, as well as their Six Seasons special (based on the Aboriginal calendar) and a barrel-aged gin called Old B.A.G. too. It’s their brilliant manifesto that most excites me about them as distillers though, and shows that they’re going to be my sort of gins.
Twitter: @old_youngs
Facebook: Old Youngs Distillery
Web: oldyoungs.com.au
UK stockist: n/a
I can’t wait to sample Western Australia’s finest! Do you have any favourites?
PS. my favourite gin-based learning when researching Western Australia was that there’s an actually town called Gingin (pop. 743). The West Winds distillery even source their lemons and limes from there.
