International Gin Day 2021: Canberra's top gin distilleries

While we're in no way associating what happens here in Canberra with London's infamous "gin craze" - where women neglected their babies, drunk on "mother's ruin"; and the British Parliament was forced to introduce eight Gin Acts to curb the rising level of drunkenness among the poor - we love the idea that Canberra is so well represented on the distillery front.

We've seen economists, doctors, physicists, photographers and former defence personnel turn their passion into thriving businesses, making their mark on the Australian gin scene.

Phillip Jones, aka The Martini Whisperer, has watched the scene grow, nationally, and specifically here in Canberra, for a number of years. On his website he lists Australian distillers and the list has more than 400 entries now.

"There's a lot of confidence in the Australian market at the moment," Jones says. "Five years ago we were wary of Australian gin, it was expensive compared to the imported gin.

"But now there's a lot of local pride happening, not just in Canberra, but all over Australia, where distillers are keen to represent the city, the place.

"We have that with the distillers here, people really love the idea of a Canberra product and it's a quality product, it's getting recognised nationally and that's a great thing."

From a tourism perspective, Jones said, it's great that when people come to Canberra, and they head out to restaurants and bars, they're starting to look for spirits, alongside local wines, for the whole regional experience.

At Tipsy Bull in Braddon, owner Joe Beltrame has 310 gins behind the bar, about 80 of them are Australian gin. European gins are popular but he's noticing people are gravitating towards Australian gins more and more.

He said the gin paddles are still a popular option. You can choose your gin, and it's served with enhancers, perhaps juniper berry, lemon or lime, some botanicals and premium tonic if you choose.

"It's a way to create a drink for your own palette," he says, "rather than a bartender just pouring you a gin and tonic, here you can curate your own experience."

Jones says this is one of the reasons why gin is so popular, it is a very diverse product that can be drunk in a lot of different ways, and it's made in a lot of different flavours.

"Start with the classic gin and tonic, but you can use it in cocktails, or branch out into the flavoured gins, the coloured gins," he says.

"But a good gin, like any good spirit, should stand on its own and not hide behind a tonic water or something like that.

"You should be able to have a good gin just on ice."

Ahead of International Gin Day, on June 12, the Endeavour Group - the parent company of BWS and Dan Murphy's - has announced that it is adding 42 Australian gins to its line up.

"We are seeing a huge trend of customers wanting to support local, Australian-made drinks across all drinks categories, but it's most noticeable in gin," said Endeavour Group's glass spirits category manager Elise McNeil.

"The majority of our gin range is now made up of homegrown gins. A couple of years ago, imported gins - especially from the UK - used to rule the gin shelves."

In the past 12 months alone, Endeavour Group has seen Australian-made craft and premium gin sales grow by more than 50 per cent across both Dan Murphy's and BWS.

"Australian-made craft gin has been growing rapidly in the last five years, and we are seeing the segment surpass vodka, which used to be the best-selling white spirit," McNeil said.

So who are the Canberra distillers making their mark on the national gin scene? We've spoken to the makers who are passionate about both their process and what makes it to the glass.

If you're looking a tipple to celebrate International Gin Day, buy local, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Established: Tim Reardon taught himself how to distill in his back shed in Kaleen as "occupational therapy" before establishing The Canberra Distillery in 2015.

What they're best known for: Reardon prides himself on the quality of the product and his firm local commitment.

Why Canberra? Canberra is home and calling it The Canberra Distillery has grounded it in this location. He says the plans aren't world domination, he likes it here.

What's behind the gin resurgence? From a bartender's perspective, Reardon says, gin gives them a great deal of flexibility in terms of making cocktails. Things go in cycles, it was vodka until about 2013 when gin took off. The real question is what's next. "We're already thinking about rum."

Favourite way to serve your preferred gin: That's like asking who your favourite child is, an impossible question. But I am very partial at the moment to our sloe gin as a winter warmer and I'll never say no to a negroni.

Established: Toby Angstmann and his sister Claudia Roughly established Underground Spirits in 2017 in a shed in the backyard in Kambah.

What they're best known for: Their smooth spirits which come from distillation process that picks up on Angstmann's medical background using a submicron, subzero filtration technique - in layman's terms, extreme freezing, and the liquid gets so cold that they can remove the aldehydes from the liquor.

Why Canberra? The water is good, the air is good, that helps, says Roughley. "It was the right time too, locals were ready to get behind local produce". Having something from where you're from, gin is about the story telling of place.

What's behind the gin resurgence? There's such a diversity of gin and it's such a playful thing. Makers across the world like to try something new and different and it has really sparked people's interest.

Favourite way to serve your preferred gin: I'm a martini girl through and through, says Roughley

Established: Scientist and former wine maker Clyde Morton founded Big River in 2017. The distillery door, in the Dairy Road precinct in Fyshwick opened in August, 2018.

What they're best known for: Big River is best known for its high-quality, scientific and contemporary approach to producing spirits and providing customers with genuine learning experiences.

Why Canberra? Canberra is a major regional economy and Big River is thinking big with its spirits going national across Australia. Canberra is a great place to launch a new gin label and proud Canberrans love to back local, and show off local producers to visiting families and friends.

What's behind the gin resurgence? Gin as a drink was long overdue for a makeover and craft distillers have accepted the challenge producing modern gins with very pure base spirits, using all sorts of different botanicals (from Australian native plants to truffles). There is a growing market of discerning consumers who enjoy the re-interpretation of old styles like Big River's Fig Gin Liqueur a variation of the classic sloe gin style from Great Britain.

Favourite way to serve your preferred gin: Head into the Distillery Door and try the most recent release, the rhubarb and vanilla pink gin, muddled with a strawberry and served with an aromatic tonic.

Established: Antipodes Gin was started in 2015 by three friends: - Rory Gration, Shane Reid and Brad Parson. "We always loved sharing a wine together and always looked towards an organic one, but when you wanted to mix up a cocktail, there was never any Australian options, we decided to fix this problem." They grew up around and on farms, and the citrus area of Sunraysia so it was a simple decision to create a certified organic spirit range that had a sense of place and reflected the land they belonged to whilst being sustainable and treading lightly. "We are just borrowing this place for a little while so let's treat it right."

What they're best known for: Being Australia's first certified organic and carbon neutral spirits distillery. Treading lightly, mindful choices, sustainable - creating spirits that are free from chemicals. This means that all the ingredients and botanicals we use are free from GMOs, nasty fertilisers and pesticides. "As clean and pure as you would grow in your own garden at home like we have done for years."

Why Canberra? The gin is distilled here in Canberra, "we loved the idea of 100% renewable electricity and great water! This is all part of why we made the mindful choice to continue our journey in the ACT."

What's behind the gin resurgence? Gin has hit the refresh button on how we see and relate to cocktails and spirits - we believe Australia will be a key driver in this category across the world due to our amazing native botanicals and ingenuity.

Favourite way to serve your preferred gin: I am loving our chardonnay and the pinot noir barrel gin at the moment, made in barrels from Lark Hill winery. The chardonnay has got at beautiful colour, some stone fruit tones and is just fabulous as a martini while the pinot has a fantastic juniper berry oomph which we love in a G&T.

Established: Hold Fast Distillery was established in February, 2020, by the Gillin family. The idea of a distillery stemmed from a passion of good affordable gin and growing of botanicals.

What are you best known for: Our two outstanding products are the gin and "Tussock Vodka". The gin was developed as a London dry style gin which is deeper flavoured and aromatic, allowing you to garnish and serve as you like, while still tasting the vibrancy of the gin. The vodka is bottled with a blade of Australian tussock grass. This keeps the vodka silky smooth, with a subtle sweet grassy note, reminiscent of Polish bison grass vodka.

Why Canberra? The Gillins have lived in many parts of Australia and the world, including Ireland, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Japan and Tuvalu), throughout Peter's 51-year naval career. (Did you note the company's naval name?) Canberra was the family's first home base and then in 1992 they moved to Braidwood; there are plans to move the distillery into Braidwood.

What's behind the gin resurgence? The versatility of gin is one of the big things which attracts people. It can be drunk neat, mixed or developed into a cocktail; and enjoyed on a hot summer's day or a cold winter's night. It is a drink which has many unique approaches from each distilleries production techniques and botanical recipes. As your education grows of this drink, it quickly becomes a passion.

Favourite way to serve your gin: Tonic or soda and cucumber; or using other citrus fruits to garnish.