Everyone’s gin preferences are different, and distillers make different styles to fit with specific cocktails. But the most versatile (and probably most popular) is the citrus-forward gin. Here are three of the best.
Surely one of the most subjective of spirits, your favourite gin style won’t be everyone’s. From savoury and salty to fruity and sweet to sharp, dry and citrus, each gin style has its own uses and benefits.
But harnessing the sharp edge of juniper’s multifaceted flavour profile, and bringing a freshness and lifted flavours of lime, orange, lemon and everything in between, citrus-forward gins are a real crowd-pleaser.
Thanks to Australian native botanicals like finger limes, lemon myrtle and green bush ants, there is a wealth of unique, delicious and elegantly citrusy Aussie gins that are unlike any other gins you’ll find anywhere.
The incredible creation of the lovely Dr Dervilla McGowen, Anther Distillery’s Goddess Strength Gin is as flavourful as it is powerful.
However, in spite of featuring a declared list of 20 botanicals and an impressive 58% ABV, Goddess Strength is also one of the smoothest gins you’re likely to try.
At the same time, citrus from its lemon-scented gum, finger limes, grains of paradise and of course juniper give this gin a bright, lively flavour profile alongside its velvety smoothness and moreish savoury notes.
Crafted by whisky legend and godfather of Australian craft spirits himself Bill Lark, Forty Spotted Distillery’s Classic Tassie Gin is a spirit with a difference—not least its packaging.
Designed to sit on your shelf upside down, the broad flat cap means you can invert the bottle, which makes it so striking in the first place. Just remember to turn it back up the other way before you open it.
As for the gin inside, you can expect the characteristically smooth and beautifully balanced work of a true master distiller.
Perhaps not the lemon hit you might expect from a 'citrus-forward gin', aromatics of spice, pepper and strawberry give way to a silky almost creamy texture, more spice and a hint of menthol from eucalyptus on the palate.
This all compiles into a fresh yet savoury drink that works beautifully in a martini, martinez or even a gimlet.
Probably the most Australian gin you’re likely to find, Green Ant Gin contains real green bush ants that have a bright lime flavour. They’re used as a botanical in the distilling process.
Along with the ants—obviously the most striking visual evidence that this gin has a solid citrus base—native botanicals of boobialla native juniper, strawberry gum, lemon myrtle and pepper berry push that sharp, bright note you’re looking for.
This distillery is owned by Daniel Motlop—a Larrakia man whose home and ancient ancestry is in the Darwin region.
Daniel, who you might also remember as AFL hero of North Melbourne and Port Adelaide football clubs, has shifted pace on his retirement from the sport to develop this distillery.
Its name, Seven Seasons, is reference to the seven distinct seasons the Indigenous peoples of the Top End have been using for tens of thousands of years in their foraging and harvesting.
You can read more about Daniel and his fascinating distillery here, and for more details on this beautifully citrus-forward and truly Australian gin, check out our full review of Seven Seasons’ Green Ant Gin here.
