Settlers Spirits gin making McLaren Vale review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

The process is surprisingly slow and steady. A tiny amount of one botanical can completely change the way a gin tastes and smells.

It’s never too early to drink gin (or make it), according to Rowland Short and his wife, Shelley. They craft gin on their McLaren Vale property and regularly share their passion and skills in a two-hour masterclass at their distillery door.

It’s an intimate, hands-on affair, with Rowland at the helm. He’s a sea captain at heart and a wonderful storyteller so it’s engaging from the word go.

Each person is equipped with an information sheet, pipettes and little vessels with which to mix ingredients.

It’s a sensory explosion. Bottles of juniper, coriander, caraway and cardamom (for the base) and pomegranate, lemon, orange, lemon myrtle, native pepper, cucumber, star anise and lemongrass botanicals are lined up on the table.

After a brief introduction from Rowland we’re left to play. It’s part art, part science and a lot of trial and error. As we mix to our individual tastes, Rowland provides guidance and gives some insight into the Settlers Spirits story.

Rowland was previously a sailing instructor and after meeting Shelley, the adventurous pair set off on a three-year journey around the world.

There’s beverage production as well as seafaring in his blood. Rowland is part of the fifth generation in a family of brewers who made soft drinks and ciders.

He grew up with the sights and the smells of fermentation and botanicals, and is still in possession of his family’s 100-year-old recipe books.

In among busy commercial lives, the couple purchased a property with a vineyard in McLaren Vale and started making wine. One thing led to another and Rowland began using shiraz grapes to make gin.

Rowland Short holds court at Settlers. Picture: Katie Spain

Botanicals are blended at Settlers Spirits. Picture: Katie Spain

“When gin was invented back in the 14th century they used grape spirit,” he says as we mix, sniff, taste and create. Today, most gin is made from grain.

Rowland, however, uses grapes because they have vineyards and a winery.

“Also because that’s the origin of gin. Just as importantly, grape spirit is also very soft in your mouth,” he says.

Rowland believes botanicals are nature’s language of joy and splendour. They certainly stir the senses. Mixing different botanicals (always with juniper – the one essential ingredient) is enlightening.

It’s also a lot of fun, though we’re not all hitting the mark with our curious concoctions. The process is surprisingly slow and steady. A tiny amount of one botanical can completely change the way a gin tastes and smells.

“Coriander adds earthiness,” Rowland says as he notices me going heavy on the herb factor.

Settlers makes a coriander gin (one of my favourites) but as hard as I try, I can’t emulate it. This gin making caper takes a lot of time, effort and skill.

Laughter rattles through the room as we experiment and swap stories. The motley crew of attendees includes interstate travellers, couples on a date and young ladies on a girls’ day out. We’re all beginners and Rowland welcomes questions.

The more experimentation, the better.

“As a winemaker I can be creative once a year during vintage but as a gin maker I can be creative every day,” he says. For a brief moment, we feel like gin makers.

It wouldn’t be a gin experience without a nip or two of the good stuff. As the class draws to a close, we mix our favourite creation and pop it in a 200ml bottle to take home. We also enjoy a gin and tonic, which we sip on the distillery door balcony and toast our skills over a cheese platter.

It’s a great way to spend a morning and, for the extra thirsty, Rowland is happy to talk through the Settlers Spirits range. There’s a lot of them, including sliced fig and a blood orange and chilli.

They make whisky, rum, vodka and liqueurs, too. Organise a designated driver if you plan to taste them all.

Katie Spain was a guest of Settlers Spirits

This review was first published in October 2019 and had details updated in March 2021

• 197 Foggo Rd, McLaren Vale
• 8323 8777
• settlersspirits.com.au

• LOCATION McLaren Vale, about 40km south of Adelaide’s CBD.
• DETAILS Learn about the different taste flavours and combinations of 12 different botanicals used in gin making. Participants bottle their favourite creation to take home.
• AVAILABILITY Saturdays, 10am to noon.
• PRICE $90.