After three limited edition batches of gin that each featured yuzu as a botanical, it became clear that the Four Pillars distillery team’s love affair with yuzu wasn’t a casual fling, and needed to be consummated with a permanent addition to their core product range.

Yuzu is a citrus fruit that’s native to Japan and China, and well-loved for carrying its own uniquely citric aromas that’s a blend of lemon, cumquat and grapefruit. In 2017, the award-winning Four Pillars Distillery in Australia first used it to make their Pure Kisume Gin, before returning to the citrus fruit to make their Changing Seasons Gin in 2019. Alas, the team couldn’t stay away, and so decided to add yuzu as a botanical once again in 2020 with the launch of teir limited-edition Rarer Dry Gin.

Finally in 2022, Four Pillars launched its flagship Fresh Yuzu Gin, which impressively bagged its first gold medal at the San Francisco International Wine & Spirits Competition in 2023. Apart from the yuzu, of course, there’s also a couple of interesting botanicals thrown into the mix, including ginger, turmeric and sencha genmaicha.

I’ve personally always enjoyed Four Pillars’ willingness to experiment with different Asian botanicals, and have always found it to yield some interesting and well-balanced gins. So without further ado, let’s get to trying the Four Pillars Fresh Yuzu gin!

Four Pillars Fresh Yuzu Gin - Tasting Notes

Nose: Fresh, delicate yuzu and grapefruit notes. The citric aroma is not overtly sharp, but comes across very subtle and wispy.

Palate: The palate is very bright and fresh, with obvious notes of lemon and mandarin peels. There’s a prickly spiciness that builds, with notes of coriander and ginger and peppercorn, and a subtle herbality of lemongrass .

Finish: Long yet delicate, with lashings of yuzu, ginger and juniper. 

Overall Thoughts:

What a unique gin from Four Pillars! This really showcases their expertise when it comes to contemporary gins - Four Pillars has always been known to play up new and novel flavours and while yuzu in gin is not new, I particularly enjoyed how they achieved an approachable sweetness of lemon curd in this gin, but also nuancing it with some tickling heat and spiciness on the palate.

This is a gin made for a highball! Very bright and fresh - perfect with a degree of effervescence. I would also love to have this in a Gin Fizz or a Gin Sour, which I think would play up its sweet tartness really nicely!

@lotusroot518