The joys of local gin

11-Oct-2013

To my mind, there’s no more refreshing drink than a gin and tonic. The moment the weather warms up, a place in our fridge is permanently reserved for tonic water, and lime becomes one of the first items on the shopping list.

But this year the routine’s changing slightly – the gin will be Australian. It’s not a parochial decision. Local gins such as The West Winds Gin, a recent medallist at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and Melbourne Gin Company are as good as any import.

The Melbourne Gin Company, made by winemaker Andrew Marks at Gembrook in the Yarra Valley, got its start after Marks experimented with a small, off-the-shelf still at his Collingwood home.

“On the back of the trials I got to within 20 per cent of where I wanted to be, went the whole hog and got myself licensed – going through the right channels was a four- or five-month process – and once I’d done that I bought a still,” says Marks, who makes wine at his family’s winery in the Yarra Valley, Gembrook Hill, and wines under his own wine label, The Wanderer.

“It’s a 130-litre alembic [bain marie-type] copper pot from Portugal, which they used to use for perfume making. It’s perfect for small batches and working with botanicals as it doesn’t overheat them. Since it arrived, Marks has spent 18 months distilling every Saturday.

“There’s no book on how to make gin, so I’ve been experimenting,” he says.

“I always had it in the back of my mind I’d be making a London Dry-style so it was always going to be juniper and coriander based. On the back of that I trialled a heap of flavours I thought would work with them, including rosemary from our garden and grapefruit from the winery at Gembrook.” To finalise the recipe for his Melbourne Gin Company gin, or MGC for short, Marks turned to his winemaking background and the skill of blending grapes to achieve a perfect balance.

“I distill the botanicals separately, which is what made sense to me .?.?. What I wanted to do was to find out what the characteristics were for each of the botanicals in the still, then I looked at them individually and blended them back together to develop my recipe.”

Once the gin is blended Marks breaks it down with Gembrook rain water, bottles it and sends it out to Melbourne’s bars and better bottle shops.

Classic style, long history

Gin has a fascinating history that dates back 1000 years to northern Italy, where white spirit was flavoured with juniper. It’s no coincidence that the Italian word for juniper is ginepro.

Bartender Fred Siggins, who mixes drinks at Fitzroy’s Black Pearl and regularly competes in national and global cocktail competitions, takes up the story.

“London Dry is the classic style of gin, which is citrus and juniper heavy, usually contains coriander in the botanicals and is by far the most popular style,” says Siggins.

Plymouth gin, which has its own appellation due to its long association with the British Navy, is similar in style.

“Then you have precursors to the London Dry style – immediately there’s Old Tom gin, which is sweeter and not as dry as London Dry. Its origin dates back to London’s Industrial Revolution, when there was no regulation and people were making a huge amount of poor-quality gin. Sugar was added to mask its impurities.

“The story goes that in the unlicensed gin joints they would have a cat’s head plaque sticking out of the wall, where you would put a penny in a slot and hold your cup up to the cat’s mouth and you would get a nip of gin.”

Taste this

Gembrook Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2011

(Yarra Valley) $35; 13.5 per cent

4 ½ / 5

This is one of the most edgy, enjoyable sauvignon blancs going around. It starts with a floral bouquet of citrus, flint, smoky oak – this sees part fermentation in old oak barrels – and tropical fruits. It moves on to a line of intense grapefruit and lemon, more of the mineral notes – flint and chalk especially – with apple and pawpaw flavours in the background. There’s texture, a light spritz, which adds to the wine’s refreshment, and a persistent finish.

Food match John Dory and beurre blanc sauce

Howard Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2010

(Adelaide Hills) $20; 13.5 per cent

4 ½ / 5

The grape that’s generally used as a blender gets a solo run here. It’s a star turn, too, with a delightful bouquet of violets, loam, menthol, liquorice and red berries. It’s a delicious expression of cab franc, this needs time to open up properly. Its structure is built for the long haul, with bright acid and fine, drying tannins that scream for food – rareish lamb now, or wait for the tannins to settle down. Length, flavour, it’s all there – and at a good price, too.

Food match Grilled lamb rump

Jim Barry The Barry Bros 2012

(Clare Valley) $19; 14 per cent

4 / 5

A coming-of-age wine for brothers and third-generation Barrys, Tom and Sam. Their rite of passage, like their dad before them, was to create a wine that makes a mark on the Jim Barry brand, and they’ve taken on the classic Australian blend: shiraz and cab sav. Blackberry and spice aromas are given ample support by cedar, oak, red berries and floral lavender, which flow nicely onto the tongue. It’s an effortless wine to drink, with the shiraz and cabernet complementing each other really well.

Food match A burger with the lot

Coriole Vineyards Fiano 2012

(McLaren Vale) $25; 12 per cent

4 / 5

A pioneer of Italian grape varieties in Australia – Coriole has been at it since 1985 – has done it again with the grape from Campania in Italy’s south. Pear, citrus, herbs and blossom combine to create a heady, sensuous bouquet. Smooth and silky, it’s complex and serious, but equally enjoyable, with intense flavours of lemon juice and pith, peach, pear and more of the interesting herb flavours. There’s a nice line of grippy acid and decent carry to the crisp, refreshing finish.

Food match Grilled garlic prawns

Red Claw Chardonnay 2012

(Mornington Peninsula) $23.50; 13 per cent

5 / 5

I ate a bunch of chardonnay grapes from the Yabby Lake vineyard at its cellar door in 2012 – the grapes on the tightly packed bunch were the nicest I’ve eaten. Now I think of it, they may have been part of a table display. Take this out of the fridge an hour before you want to drink it – you’ll be rewarded with funky gunsmoke, white nectarine, cantaloupe rind and lemon zest aromas and a similar array of intense flavours. A lovely structure, with a bright line of acid and powdery tannins, completes the package.

Food match Roast chicken

LINK: The joys of local gin

---