Kangaroo Island Spirits (KIS) distillery is, as the name tells you, based on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The island is well-known for its natural beauty and the inhabitants work hard to protect and conserve the environment.
KIS distillery reflects this in its ‘slow spirits’ philosophy; using only local, fresh, seasonal ingredients and aiming to move towards carbon neutral and environmentally sustainable practises.
Wild Gin is distilled using a copper still using vapour infusion method (the botanicals are placed in a basket over the distilling alcohol and not in the pot itself). The pot is only capable of producing 45 bottles at a time, so this really is at the micro-distillery end of gin production.
Botanicals
In keeping with its love of all things local, the distillery grows coriander, limes and mint on site as well as harvesting Australian Boobialla berries (myoporum insular) which are considered to be “native juniper” and have a similar flavour (although they also use Italian juniper).
Wild Gin also features Cardamom, Mace, Cassia, Pink Pepper, Caraway, Lime zest, Fresh Ginger, and Mint are the other botanicals used in the distillation process.
Hints of Juniper and citrus from the lime are the first thing you will smell. In terms of flavour the spicy, herbal botanicals quickly come to the fore with the ginger offering some heat towards the finish. I think the inclusion of lime and mint keep the flavour on the fresh side. When drinking I’d lean towards the savoury end of the cocktail list as Wild Gin makes an excellent Negroni and martini. When drinking as a G&T play around with garnishes…mint or lime will balance out the spice.
Kangeroo Island Spirits welcome visitors to their cellar door (I’m looking forward to checking out their recently planted Aromatic Gin Garden) where you can also blend your own gin or take part in a masterclass. More information here.
Country of Origin: Australia
ABV: 43%
Price: Medium
Comments are closed.