Hunter Distillery Jail House Gin

Jail House Gin began with a conversation about where gin comes from. Hunter Distillery's head distiller, Matthew, travelled to Melbourne to learn more about distillation, and a guest speaker from Geneva talked about the origins of the spirit; the meeting led Matthew and Paul to create their own take on an original gin style. It is bottled at 45% ABV.

Citrus · Spicy

Lemon myrtleLemon myrtleThe leaf of an Australian tree with an intense lemon scent, purer than zest and without acidity.Glossary and Szechuan spice are the botanicals the distillery singles out, with juniper at the centre. Juniper and citrus open the nose, the lemon myrtle bringing a fragrant, lemony lift.

The palate is spicy, the Szechuan spice giving a warm, peppery and slightly numbing tingle, balanced by juniper and citrus. The finish stays dry, with the spice lingering after the citrus. Lemon myrtle has a fresher, more perfumed citrus than lemon peel, close to lemongrass, which sits well beside the warm pepper. Juniper keeps the drink dry beneath the spice.

Hunter Distillery suggests Jail House neat or in a MartiniDry MartiniGin and a little dry vermouth, stirred over ice and served in a well-chilled stemmed glass, with an olive or a twist.Glossary with cucumber, two ways to taste the juniper and the spice clearly. At 45%, it keeps its shape in a stirred drink, and the cucumber softens the pepper while adding freshness. In a Martini, a dash of dry vermouthVermouthAn aromatised, fortified wine flavoured with herbs and barks; its name comes from the German Wermut, wormwood. Dry vermouth goes into a Martini, sweet red into a Negroni.Glossary leaves room for the pepper and the lemon myrtle to show.

For a gin and tonic, fill a balloon glassCopa glassA large stemmed balloon glass, popularised by the Spanish gin and tonic: it stays cold for longer and gathers the aromas above the drink.Glossary with clear iceClear iceIce without air bubbles, made by slow, directional freezing. Denser, it melts more slowly and dilutes less.Glossary, add 5 cl of gin and 10 cl of Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic WaterMediterranean tonicA tonic with less bitterness and sugar, scented with herbs and citrus (rosemary, thyme, lemon). It leaves more room for the gin's botanicals.Glossary, and stir gently once. Add a cucumber ribbon and a small lemon myrtle leaf to the glass. The cucumber follows the distillery's own suggestion, and the leaf brings the gin's citrus botanical to the nose. The cool cucumber also softens the pepper's tingle.