7 Interesting Gins You Won't Find At Dan Murphy's
There’s no doubt to be had, gin has exploded over the last 20 years, and seemingly each week there’s a new, delicious bottling to try.
At Liquor Loot, we’ve worked hard to bring you the best gins from around the world, and right here in Australia. Some of these are obscure, some are delicious, and some are downright bizarre.
We couldn’t stock them all, but here are seven weird and wonderful gins that you won’t find at your local Dan’s:
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1. Seppeltsfield Road Distillers Barossa Shiraz Gin
A vividly coloured, seriously delicious gin from South Australia’s world famous wine region.
This gin is made with a base of neutral grape spirit (there’s plenty of grapes to be found locally) and blended with big, bold Barossa shiraz wine. The result is a thick, fruity gin with tonnes of plum and cherries accompanying the classic botanicals.
Grab your own bottle from Liquor Loot here.
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2. Anty Gin
You might think of your vodka-loving friend as “Anti-Gin,” but this bottling brings a whole new meaning to the term.
Released back in 2017 as a partnership between Cambridge Distillery and Nordic Food Lab, this gin is literally made with ants. Wood ants to be precise, 62 of which go into each bottle of this stuff. Not only that, but it comes with 50ml dropper of pure ant distillate… Yum?!
The nose is incredibly citrussy, whilst the taste is powerfully woody, like a forest floor, with notes of jasmine and chopped herbs.
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3. Dà Mhìle Seaweed Gin
A gin that goes the extra Mhìle? This bottling has been made by a Welsh distillery that shares its name.
The spirit uses seaweed gathered off the coast of Cornwall as a key botanical, imparting a faintly emerald hue to the final product, and giving it a distinctive coastal flavour profile.
The result is rather delicious, with a maritime salinity, rich fennel, slight iodine and lemon rind. If any whisky drinkers are reading, think “the Laphroaig of Gin”. Dà Mhìle does very well in Dirty Martinis or drizzled directly onto oysters.
As it happens, seaweed is a traditional ingredient in certain Welsh recipes, most famously Laver cake (nothing to do with Chocolate Lava cake).
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4. Cambridge Distillery Curator’s Gin
Cambridge is famed for being a seat of learning, so it comes as no surprise that this distillery pioneered the super-scientific practice of vacuum distillation.
Vacuum distillation reduces the pressure of the still, allowing alcohol to be produced at lower temperatures, thus preserving the delicate flavours of the botanicals.
The Curator’s Gin uses botanicals from the Cambridge University Botanic gardens, including apples from a tree derived from the one that Sir Isaac Newton sat under when he discovered gravity. The final result is a herbaceous, citrusy gin with a touch of apple sweetness and earthy coriander.
You can grab your own bottling of this learned gin right here at Liquor Loot.
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5. Copper and Kings 1495 Guelders Gin
A gin from modern American brandy distillery, Copper and Kings, who are based in the Bourbon state of Kentucky and have been in the business since 2014.
This gin is made using grape wine, combined with a distillate of Hamburg style beer. The beer is made to a 15th century recipe, documented as belonging to a wealthy merchant from the Guelders region of Germany. The beer and wine spirit is distilled with sage, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, galangal, ginger, grains of paradise & juniper berries.
A Genever-like gin is the result, with a distinctive malty nose, rich spiciness and an incredibly full body. An unusual gin which combines modernity and tradition.
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6. Threefold Gin
At a time when gins increasingly contain many dozen botanicals, Australia-made Threefold Gin contains just 11, and places the emphasis on three “hero” ingredients. These are: rosemary, grapefruit and lavender.
The final product is a distinctively floral gin, underpinned by bright citrus, fragrant rosemary and creamy mouthfeel. A modern classic, that you can pick up from Liquor Loot here.
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7. Sacred Christmas Pudding Gin
The Pavlova might reign supreme as the top Chrissy dessert in Aus, but back in the UK, the Pudding is the king of the seasonal sweet.
This fact is reflected by Sacred Microdistillery’s decision to release a gin that includes whole Christmas puds in the botanical recipe.
The puddings are made to a recipe created by Head Distiller Ian Hart’s great aunt Nellie (the recipe is included on the reverse of the bottling’s label), which requires the puddings to be steamed for no less than 8 hours.
Christmas puddings are then steeped in Sacred’s vacuum distilled spirit for two months, before a second distillation produces this clear, yet incredibly flavoursome gin. The final product is almost cakey in mouthfeel, and packed with spicy, sweet festive flavours. Best enjoyed straight out of the freezer as a shot.
Uncle Dan might not have it all…
...But as ever, we believe the best way to enjoy a wide range of gins, whether they be fascinating, flavoursome, delicious or deranged (or perhaps all of the above) is to join up to a Liquor Loot subscription. Explore our full range of gins and mixers right here.
As a Liquor Loot member, you’ll enjoy fantastic gins in the comfort of your own home, with three premium 60 ml tasters sent each month. Who knows, perhaps a few of the above might even slip in!