Never Never Juniper Freak Gin

Juniper goes into Juniper Freak three separate ways. Never Never Distilling Co. steeps Macedonian juniper in the spirit, redistils it, and then places more of it in the vapour basketVapour infusionBotanicals sit in a basket above the liquid, so only the alcohol vapour passes through them, for a lighter, fresher extraction.Glossary, so the botanical that defines gin is extracted by macerationMacerationBotanicals soak in alcohol, from a few hours to several days, before distillation to release their aromas.Glossary, by distillation and by vapour in the same bottle. The name is an honest warning.

Citrus · Dry · Herbal · Navy Strength

Each treatment pulls something different from the berry. Steeping draws out the heavier resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary and woody compounds, redistillation concentrates them, and the vapour basket catches the lighter, brighter pine and citrus oils that a long soak would dull. Around that triple dose sits a recipe with a clear Australian accent: Tasmanian pepperberryTasmanian pepperberryA wild Australian berry: fruity at first, then a slowly building heat. It can tint the gin pink.Glossary, with its hot, fruity bite; pine needles, which push the juniper's forest character further; and gum leaf, the eucalyptus leaf, cool and camphorous. Lemon and lime keep the top sharp, coriander, cinnamon and liquorice fill the middle, and angelica and orris root hold the base.

The distillery is in McLaren Vale, the wine region south of Adelaide, and bottles Juniper Freak at 58%, a strength that carries all that juniper oil without flattening the Australian botanicals. Macedonian juniper is widely treated as a benchmark for gin, prized for its high oil content. The name and the method point in the same direction: juniper comes first, second and third.

With Fever-Tree Indian Tonic WaterIndian tonicThe classic tonic: sparkling water, bitter quinine and sugar. The name recalls colonial India, where quinine warded off malaria.Glossary, the quinineQuinineAn alkaloid from cinchona bark that gives tonic its bitterness. The British in India drank it against malaria and added gin: the gin and tonic was born.Glossary meets the juniper head on. Build it over plenty of ice: 4 cl of gin, 10 cl of the tonic, a curl of lemon peel and a sprig of dried rosemary, whose resinous, slightly smoky scent suits the pine needles. The same strength makes it a natural base for a Negroni or a Martini, where lighter gins tend to disappear.