Stirrings from the world of craft spirits
The craft spirits revolution is happening around the world, from Finland to Venezuela and our own Riverland.
My latest dispatch from the frontline of the craft spirits revolution takes you to South Australia’s Riverland, via Finland and Venezuela, then pokes inside the covers of a new book — and the bottom of a spittoon.
First the Riverland. A couple of months ago, Bickford’s Group in South Australia opened the new 23rd Street Distillery in the heart of the region, after a $6 million renovation of the old Renmark Growers’ Distillery, first established in 1914. Production of Bickford’s large-volume spirits brands Black Bottle brandy and Vickers gin will eventually move into this new site, but the distillery has launched with — and will continue to make — small batches of brandy, whisky and gin under the 23rd Street label (pictured). My pick of the range is the Prime 5 Brandy ($83), a rich and luxurious spirit, with great depth and complexity. I love the label, too: an evocative and very appropriate painting of river reflections by South Australian artist Garry Duncan.
Meanwhile, the Angove family’s St Agnes distillery last month produced what the company is calling the Riverland’s first “legal whisky”. The raw spirit, distilled from a beer made especially for the purpose at Coopers Brewery, will now sit in small oak barrels for a few years to mature and develop its distinctive whisky flavours, so tuck this one away in your memory banks for, say, 2020.
Now for some imported gear. I caught up recently with Ben Baranow from specialty spirits shippers Baranows Emporium for a tasting and was very impressed by what I tried.
Baranow imports the gins of the Kyro distillery, located in western Finland, and they’re well worth tracking down if you want a departure from the classic London Dry or modern Australian style. The Napue Gin ($85), for example, includes foraged and farmed Finnish botanicals such as sea buckthorn, birch leaves and meadowsweet, and has the most beautiful, delicate, floral and herbal perfume, while the Koskue Gin ($90), aged in small American oak barrels for a couple of months, has the floral prettiness wrapped up in more intense flavours of citrus oil and cracked pepper. And I know I’m late to the party with this one (it has been a huge hit in bars and retail stores across the country for a few years now), but I was also blown away by my first taste of Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum ($100) from Venezuela. This is rum for cognac drinkers: refined and sophisticated, with a seductive gentle sweetness and superb balance.
If you’re looking for some guidance for all the new spirits adorning our bar shelves and bottle shops, a good place to start is The Australian Spirits Guide ($39.95, Hardie Grant Books) by writer, bartender and educator Luke McCarthy.
As well as giving a very useful overview of the history and current state of play of the Australian spirits scene, McCarthy profiles 60 of the country’s best spirits, from mainstream producers such as Bundaberg in Queensland to minuscule players such as Belgrove in Tasmania. He includes good tasting notes and cocktail suggestions, and has written illuminating stories about some of the most important and influential people in the industry.
And, finally, those crazy cats at this weekend’s Rootstock wine fair in Sydney are teaming up with local distillery Poor Tom’s Gin for an exercise in ultimate recycling. The Rootstock team will be salvaging the wine from the spit buckets and leftover bottles from the festival and the Poor Tom’s team will be distilling it to make a spirit that will then be served in cocktails at Rootstock next year. Yes, I know: sounds gross, but could be delicious.