Feature | Distilled by Design
NZ’S OLFACTORY LIBRARY
To celebrate and itemise the range of possible olfactory enticements, Kate Galloway and David Ramorteau of Hastings Distillers have created an olfactory library somewhat similar to that used with perfume making, They categorised gin flavours into nine subsets with over 300 different botanicals, which demonstrate the level of sophistication that New Zealand gin distilling has achieved in recent years.
MICRO SUCCESS
In March this year a tiny distillery in Thames owned by Daniella Seuss and Paul Schneider went up against many large producers to take out the Best in Country award with two of their flagship gins: Awildian Coromandel Dry Gin and Coromandel Mānuka Gin, proof indeed that micro distillers can produce exceptional gin.
NOT ONLY IN NEW ZEALAND
Gin Palace, Barton arms, Birmingham.
Gin acquired the name “Mothers Milk” as well as “Mothers Ruin”; mothers would quieten their babies with it, or on occasion abandon them in order to drink themselves into a stupor. Some children were born deformed due to the high toxicity of gin in their mother’s bodies, and if not the mother, the father might become alcoholic to the extent he was unable to contribute towards his family needs. ENTER SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Eventually various taxes and regulations were imposed to address public drunkenness and help maintain gin quality. A tax was charged per gallon with a license fee charged to make it. Between 1729 and 1751 eight Acts of English law were passed to regulate gin but it wasn’t until the late 1700s that beer took over as the drink of choice by the lower classes, and by the 1830’s beer was being sold free from licensing laws while gin went upmarket and entered the realm of the gin palace. By the 1920s gin was the desired drink in the “cocktail age”. Cocktails based on gin were staple on cruises and at dinner parties as it became the preferred and
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WineNZ Magazine | Spring 2022
desirable drink of the socially elevated classes. Over the centuries gin has enjoyed periods of greater, and lesser popularity, but by 2018 the sale of gin in the UK had overtaken whiskies and liqueurs. IN NEW ZEALAND British migrants coming to New Zealand over the years helped popularise the tonic locally though until recently gin most of our gin was produced in Britain and imported. But entrepreneurial Kiwi gin makers became intrigued to explore what our unique botanicals could add to the taste sensation; unique flavours feted in gin began to pop up in many micro distilleries. Now New Zealand has around 100 distillers making gin. Most produce very small batches, but with a keen interest in finding innovative ways to add to the flavour. The broad flavour categories include juniper, savoury, spice, floral, earthen, herbal and citrus, but within these categories are a myriad of flavour distinctions, and to a batch of gin a wide variety of flavour enhancing botanicals may be added.
Gin making has become a newfound art around the world where, even up alongside the biggest brands such as the well-known British names such as Beefeater, Bombay and Gordons, a range of New Zealand made international gins compete to take the honours; brands such as Reefton, Scapegrace, and Rifters; and alongside them to boot, Larios of Spain and Malfy from Italy.
GIN CLUB
In support of all this popularity gin clubs have been popping up, where many of the smaller producers’ blends can show off their product tastings and what have you. Some micro distillers are selling their gin at their local farmer’s markets, and many are available online. The gin tasting experience is also on offer at some restaurants, with lavish bars – reminiscent of the pretentiously decorated gin palaces and pleasure boats of the 1920s perhaps but without quite so much of the ostentation. Today gin has become an established lifestyle drink, associated with entertainment, travel, an adventurous sensory experience that only a swanky gin cocktail in an even swankier setting can put out on offer. In the Next Edition of Wine New Zealand we’ll profile several of New Zealand’s top gin makers: What are their stories? What led them to begin with gin, their successes to date, and ambitions for the future.