They (and Arrowtown distillery Rifters below) very kindly provided me with samples to taste: being able to try these alongside one another was fascinating.
All were initially tasted neat, then the line up was re-visited with tonic, which surprised me with its ability to amplify flavours and balance.
The variations in texture and flavour components were exciting; there really is a world of flavour for gin lovers to explore on our own doorstep!
Dunedin Craft Distillers
Dunedin Dry Gin 40%
Price RRP $72 500ml
Neat: intensely floral, perfumed, a wisp of butterscotch, citrus characters coming into play, a touch of freshly cracked pepper. Delightfully creamy texture, adds a hint of double cream, carries the characters on the nose through the palate. Very elegant.
With tonic: the citrus notes grow, a wisp of herb, lanolin and caramel back notes. My favourite as a sipping gin.
Rifters Quartz Gin 42%
Price RRP $89.95 700ml
Neat: powerful citrus, lemon and lime zest, white flowers, floral, juniper and spice growing in tandem. Creamy entry, juniper driving the palate, coriander also, powerful spirit lending pepperiness to the close. Elegant nose, powerful palate.
With tonic: neatly accentuates the lime citrus, adding honeyed sweetness. Coolness and elegance, beautiful balance, flavours hang in the mouth. Classy.
Sandymount Distillery
Tī Kōuka Forest Gin 43%
Price RRP $79 700ml
Neat: really floral, earthy, woodsy, a lightly honeyed aspect. The scents evoke memories of walking through a forest after rain, peppery, a backdrop of lemon and grapefruit, quite complex.
With tonic: the florals evident once more, picks up a saline aspect, earthiness again, complexity, an underlying coolness to this which speaks of place. Delicacy, very engaging.
Saddle Hill Brewery & Distillery
Clementine Gin 42%
Price RRP $69 700ml
Neat: a herbal aspect leads, subtle orange citrus sashaying into smoke and pepper as the juniper makes its mark. In the mouth orange to the fore, herbs and pepper flowing to a bittersweet finish.
With tonic: lifts the orange notes, bringing a sweeter element, really allows the flavours to open up and express themselves, juniper a nice closing note.
Saddle Hill Brewery & Distillery
Blackcurrant Sour Gin 42%
Price RRP $69 700ml
Neat: juniper and herbs, celery, spicy touches, a subtle backdrop of raspberry and berry fruit. Quite intriguing, a sweet ‘n’ sour combo that hits different buttons. Peppery, almost a grainy feel, powerful spirit giving a cracked pepper close.
With tonic: juniper and celery lead, raspberry and berry fruit build, adding freshness and interest, tonic pares back the spirit and complements the whole nicely.
No 8 Distillery
Moka Gin 38%
Price RRP $65 700ml
Neat: wow! Distinctly different, cocoa nibs, dark chocolate, orange, subtle coffee notes a backdrop. Continues the theme in the mouth, coffee a little more forward, now the juniper kicks in. Supple mouthfeel, fascinating.
With tonic: chocolate orange notes leap out, cocoa powder, coffee notes an undertone. Takes gin in a new direction, tonic lifting it to new heights.
Sandymount Distillery
Woodcutter Barrel Aged Gin 41%
Price RRP $89 700ml
Neat: echoes of the Lovers Leap in the juniper, coriander and citrus notes adding spiced honey as well. Incredible creaminess and texture the focus, the sweet oak spices hanging on the close.
With tonic: a whisky like aspect yet initially slightly more subtle. The sweetness more evident, growing spiciness as the flavours build and reveal themselves more and more.
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Saddle Hill Brewery & Distillery
Barrel Aged Gin
Price RRP N/A 700ml
Neat: sweetly floral, bush honey, vanilla, spices, cinnamon stick. Sipping there is lightly honeyed sweetness, fruit pastille, pear, a citrus backdrop as juniper and pepper build. Smokiness reminiscent of whisky. Delightful creaminess and a super-long carry of
flavour.
With tonic: spiced honey and florality bound out, pepper and smoke on the palate. Perhaps not for the purist but palate extending.
