“The world didn’t need another London Dry Gin made by three bald Australian blokes. We just thought there’s got to be more opportunity out there,” commented Cam MacKenzie, one of three co-founders of Four Pillars Distillery in Australia. And indeed, Four Pillars Distillery didn’t wind up making London Dry Gins, but is today is known for its uniquely Australian contemporary gins, drawing together botanicals from across the Asia Pacific region to unlock new modern flavor profiles.

What’s interesting is that the team, while based in Australia, do not just confine themselves to using indigenous Australian botanicals, but also embrace ingredients from around the broader Asian region – perhaps reflecting a truly “modern” Australian gin befitting of the increasingly multi-cultural land down-under.

This is fairly unexpected, as in recent years you may have noticed that many emerging craft gin brands - especially those based out of the UK - face some degree of pressure to focus their botanicals on a confined locality to emphasize provenance as a marketing differentiating factor. Yet the team’s open-mindedness in this aspects allows them to create creative and unique combinations of flavors at Four Pillars. For example, pairing star anise from Vietnam, cubeb from Indonesia, green Szechuan peppers from China, and turmeric from Nepal, with native oranges, lemon myrtle, pepper berry and coriander from across Australia.

Head Distiller Cameron Mackenzie lowers a bucket of whole oranges into the still. (Image source: Four Pillars)

One of the star ingredients of the Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is no doubt the use of whole oranges - not orange peels! - from Australia. When MacKenzie and the team were first creating with the Four Pillars botanicals blend, they had wanted to incorporate more soft citrus characteristics. They initial tested distilling dried orange peels, until a visiting German distiller from CARL, Dr Klaus Hagmann, came by to sample a test batch. Hagmann suggested using fresh citrus available all year round in Australia, and the rest is history.

Today, I’m reviewing the OG: the distillery’s very first gin expression dubbed the Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin.

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin - Tasting Notes 

Nose: Citrus aromas of orange peels intertwined with light spices of cinnamon and cardamom.  Fresh notes of juniper ties it all together.

Palate: The texture has this luscious silkiness. The spiciness grows in strength with notes of coriander, cardamom and star anise. There’s quite a diverse interplay of flavours here, and sipping this gin slowly brings forth new dimensions of sweetness from orange blossoms and finger limes, as well as a rooty, earthiness of juniper berries and Angelica root.

Finish: Medium, and fades with subtly spicy-sweet flavors of star anise, cinnamon and lemon candy.

Overall Thoughts:

This is a great sipping gin! It’s a good example of a contemporary gin that really plays to the strengths of its unique botanicals. The use of whole orange blossoms and an array of baking spices creates a complex gin that balances between spicy, citrus and earthy notes - each taking their turn to reveal themselves as you sip on this.

Simplicity may be the key here when it comes to cocktails: given that the nuanced flavours of this gin might shine better undisturbed by too many mixers. I would recommend it with a straightforward tonic garnished with a lemon peel or a cinnamon stick, or use it in a Tom Collins.

@lotusroot518