Why South Australia leads the way on gin — and how you should drink it
David Box wrote the book about Australian gin – literally. He spoke to Gordon Knight about the craft gin movement, SA’s leading role and how to best drink gin this summer.
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David Box runs Gintonica, a company that curates gin samples, and his search for more information about the gins he loves lead him to write Australia’s first book on gin. He spoke to Gordon Knight about the craft gin movement, SA’s leading role and how to best drink a gin this summer.
What is gin
What is gin? It’s a Pandora’s box. You can be snobby or straight-forward about it. Basically, gin is an alcoholic spirit that is predominantly juniper flavoured. Some people – who aren’t fans – might call gin a flavoured vodka, which I liken to saying that Hamlet is just a play or the Mona Lisa is just a painting.
Spirited growth
Over the past two years, the amount of gin distilleries in Australia has doubled. When I started writing my book, Australian Gin, there were roughly 50 distilleries, and I thought maybe 80 per cent would be part of the book. That ended up doubling, too. Stu Gregor, of Four Pillars gin, spoke at the recent Australian Distillers Association conference. He said that in 2014, 26 people attended the conference; last weekend, at the conference, there were 195 attendees.
Rebellion brewing
The craft spirit movement started a long time ago in the UK with what’s called the Campaign for Real Ale. In the 1970s and ’80s, in the UK, people’s favourite beers were being taken away – small breweries were being bought up and destroyed. Then, big companies bought small wine and spirits brands up. It took a while, but people started to say: “I’m looking for something better.”
Toasting SA
South Australia stands out for the number of high-quality distilleries. You have six to eight outstanding ones. Sacha La Forgia at Adelaide Hills Distillery is unbelievably good. He’s a visionary. His work with Something Wild to create Green Ant Gin, that’s a milestone and it really stands up against gins that use botanicals. And his 78 Degree Sunset Gin is a great Australian take on a pink gin. Applewood gin by Brendan Carter is sublime. And Applewood started in 2012, that’s right back. The standout though is Kangaroo Island Spirits. Founded in 2006, KI was the first dedicated distillery in the country. Everyone before Jon Lark was making whisky with gin on the side. KI only makes gin. And Jon has won so many awards for his O’Gin.
Big gins, big wins
I’m a massive fan of the newest boys on the block, Never Never. They’ve come from a bartending background and in just three years they’ve gone from nothing to this year winning the best gin in the world award. They make uncompromisingly bloody big juniper gins. Never Never Triple Juniper is great in a cocktail. If you use a contemporary gin with lots of botanicals (in a cocktail) you can lose those botanical tastes. What you’re looking for is a classic London Dry.
All the gins
Whether we’re doing contemporary Australian gins, classic London Dry gins or any of the gins in-between, we’re winning awards.
Made for summer
Nothing beats a really good G&T. One part gin to three parts tonic with a straightforward lime or lemon in a very big Spanish copa de balon glass with lots of ice is perfect for summer. The more ice, the less the ice melts. And the simple rule with garnish is you only garnish a gin with the botanicals that are in the gin.
Just the tonic
Fevertree tonic can be good but I love Capi tonic. I have to keep a base of the same tonic when I’m tasting, so I stick with standard Capi.
Shake it up
On the question of whether gin bruises, I say that’s a myth. But keep your martini in the freezer and there’s no need to shake it with ice anyway.
Getting a taste
My business, Gintonica, is involved in curating gin samples. In 2017, I decided to do a gin advent calendar – and that went absolutely crazy. That needed 24 gins. Shortly after that I needed 12 more in a pack. And then there was a tasting pack. Now I have 140 gins in 50ml bottles. I just finished bottling 100,000 bottles.
Stirred to write
I’d go looking for information on gins and there was nothing. I found Luke McCarthy’s Australian Spirits Guide, but it was very technical. I wanted to know who the people are who make gin, how they do it, and see pictures. so in a moment of madness I decided to write Australian Gins. I think I’ve written a good coffee table book, or what I prefer to call a bar-top book.
Australian Gin by David Box, $69.95, gintonica.com.au
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