Gin, Vodka & Tequila

Gin, vodka and tequila essences

These three sit together because they all start from the same place: a clean neutral base spirit with no character of its own. What you add decides which drink you end up with. That is exactly why a reflux still and an essence make sense together, and why this is where most people begin.

Gin

• Dry English Gin. The juniper-forward classic. If you drink gin and tonic, this is the one.
• Pink Gin. Softer and berry-led. The volume seller, and the one non-gin-drinkers tend to like.
• Elderflower Gin. Floral and delicate, and good over ice with very little else.
• Violet Gin. Distinctive, and as much about the colour as the flavour.
• Pink Grapefruit Gin. Citrus-forward and bitter in a way the pink gin is not.

Worth knowing: an essence and real botanicals are two different routes to gin, and they combine. Running botanicals through a basket in the vapour path builds gin the way a distillery does it. An essence flavours a finished spirit. Plenty of people do both, distilling with botanicals and then adjusting with an essence.

Vodka and tequila

Vodka is the plainest thing on this page and the most useful. Top Shelf Vodka gives you the neutral finished spirit, and the Citrus Vodka adds the one flavour that actually improves it. Tequila comes in two, the standard essence and a Silver, which is the lighter unaged style.

Buying

Single bottles while you work out what you like. The Any Mix packs in 10, 24 and 36 let you build your own selection and cost less per bottle, which suits anyone past the experimenting stage. The 700ml craft spirit bottles with cork tops are the difference between a gift and a jar.

Ships Australia-wide from our Melbourne store. Ask us if you are deciding between going down the botanicals route or the essence route for gin.