During my review of Santamanìa gin, I mentioned a unique collaboration between the Madrid distillery and our own, Four Pillars Gin, and here it is; Cousin Vera’s Gin.
The Australian-Spanish gin project started life as a conversation on twitter between the two distilleries, with Santamanìa remarking on the similarities between Wilma, Four Pillars Carl still, and their own still, Vera. Fast forward a year and while planning a trip through Europe, Cameron Mackenzie, Master Distiller at Four Pillars, saw the opportunity to create a gin with Santamanìa. The Spanish distillers were very enthusiastic and the plan was set in motion.
Botanicals
Cousin Vera’s gin, like Santamanìa uses neutral grape-based spirit made with Tempranillo grapes. The Spanish botanicals are Cornicabra olive, almond, fresh rosemary, white pepper, and Seville orange peel. The Australian native botanicals are; lemon myrtle, anise myrtle, Tasmanian pepper leaf and coriander. All of the botanicals, not forgetting juniper, were added to Vera and left to macerate overnight, before 5 hours of distillation.
The result is amazing. On the nose there is lots of juniper and rosemary with a hint of coriander. On the palate it has a wonderful fresh to start, with bright citrus notes leading on to savoury flavours from the olive and rosemary. It has a warm peppery finish with an incredible creamy mouthfeel.
I used Cousin Vera’s gin to make a Spanish martini made with Fino Sherry, garnished with Mount Zero olives from Victoria and Jamòn Ibèrico. Perfection! I would certainly recommend this in a Dirty Martini too.
Naturally, Cousin Vera’s gin makes a great G&T, but I also made a Rosemary Collins which was lovely.
Cousin Vera’s gin is an incredible achievement, highlighting the skills of Cam from Four Pillars and Javier, Victor and Ramon at Santamanìa. The gin is available at both distilleries in their own unique packaging. This is an extremely limited edition and definitely worth seeking out.
Country of Origin: Spain and Australia
ABV: 42.8%
Price: Medium
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