Spirit of SUCCESS

The fun and fizz of gin-based cocktails meets an uplifting outdoor experience at Distillery Botanica’s scenic new grounds. Blooming lovely!

Gin may be the ultimate urban sophisticate’s cocktail ingredient, conjuring inky after-dark bars and jazz-baby decadence, but Distillery Botanica, owned by award-winning master distiller Philip Moore, is the artisanal producer intent on bringing gin back to nature. A newly reimagined distillery door and transformed gardens celebrate the native ingredients that have put the Erina-based distiller’s gin and liqueurs on the global map. The air is fragrant with the zing of citrus, herbs, and florals – the very ingredients that add ambrosial sparkle to the brand’s spirits, crafted to re-create an Australian summer garden after rainfall. Philip taps into his original expertise as a herbalist of 20 years to blend exquisite bases for craft cocktails. Moore’s Dry Gin won the gold medal at London’s International Wine and Spirit Competition (2017), an Aussie first. Philip is also the first and only Australian to be inducted into the UK's Gin Magazine hall of fame. And no wonder. Moore’s Dry Gin is a citrus and juniper dominant gin, very much like the most popular London Dry gins. This classic-in-style gin has been enlivened with a selection of Australian native botanicals including wild lime, macadamia nut and Illawarra plum.

Fans of ‘contemporary’ or ‘new world’ gins love the cheekily named Moore’s Roots & Leaves Dry Gin. Juniper is less prominent in this style of gin and was inspired by Philip’s enthusiasm for making gin from ingredients he can harvest himself. He proudly grows eight of the nine botanicals in his garden at Distillery Botanica, four of the roots being galangal, ginger, turmeric and angelica and four of the leaves being makrut lime leaf, curry tree, mandarin and lemon verbena.

Distillery Botanica’s playful flavours instantly create new cult highball classics. Blood Orange Gin, another offering in Moore’s Dry Gin line, is one of his limited releases and is delicious in a martini. Lemon Myrtle Liqueur, an elegant lemon sherbet blend bursting with the medicinal, menthol-like potency of the crushed leaf, is refreshing splashed onto ice, gin, fresh lemon and soda. Lemon Myrtle Collins, anyone?

Visitors can sample Philip's range of award-winning spirits and liqueurs before stocking up their cocktail cabinet at the distillery door (hint: start with the herbaceous hit of the classic Dry Gin with Fever-Tree Indian Tonic and go from there).

Meanwhile, Bar Botanica is a died-and-gone-to-heaven affair. Organic design elements have rainforest appeal. Beams, whitewashed walls and a floor-to-ceiling waterfall window create a light-flooded haven where diners kick off with Distillery Botanica cocktails, graze on platters, gourmet melts, and pastries – or sit al fresco in the shaded garden courtyard bar, scooping up refreshingly cool Affogato, drowned in the distillery’s coffee and raspberry liqueurs. Happily, if you and your dog gallivant together, your pooch is most welcome.

Philip’s pursuit of perfection sees him follow a slow, artisanal, and precise distilling process which is part science experiment, part art form. Each botanical in Moore’s Dry Gin is individually distilled to perfection, capturing its quintessential essence – it’s here that the botanical spirits are ready to be blended into each of his Moore’s Dry Gin range. He is constantly researching new flavours and he is inspired by the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen to make minor improvements over a period of time to achieve a perfect and intensely flavoured product.

This local attraction is not only bouncing back post-covid with new grounds, but will soon be launching guided group tastings and tours of the distillery. Whether local gin lovers – or visitors from further afield – prefer their gin citrus, floral, spicy or herbal, they welcome the opportunity to enjoy their libation at the new distillery door, accompanied by views of Philip's beautiful gin garden.

25 Portsmouth Road, Erina, NSW 2250; see distillerybotanica.com, @distillerybotanica, facebook.com/therealdistillerybotanica

Raspberry Ramble Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

30ml Distillery Botanica Raspberry Liqueur

20ml Moore’s Dry Gin

15ml lime juice

10ml sugar syrup

Fresh lime

Fresh raspberries

Add Distillery Botanica Raspberry Liqueur, Moore’s Dry Gin, lime juice and sugar syrup to a cocktail shaker. Shake and pour into a stemless wine glass over a large cube of ice. Garnish with fresh lime and fresh raspberries.