Bright Night Pink Gin

A small red Tasmanian berry, the murtis, gives Bright Night Pink GinPink ginToday, a gin flavoured and tinted pink (red fruit, rhubarb…). Originally, plain gin with a few dashes of Angostura bitters.Glossary both its colour and its fruit. The berries are handpicked on Tasmania's north-west coast and steeped in the distillery's Wild Tasmanian Gin, which brings fifteen botanicals to the finished gin. It is bottled at 45% ABV in a 700 ml bottle, and the pink colour is entirely natural.

Spicy · Fruity · Earthy

The murtis has a bright, sherbet-like character, and Bright Night compares the result to strawberry, pineapple and fruit candy. Those impressions come from the berry itself; no strawberry or pineapple is added. Against that fruit, the base gin sets earthy angelica, cardamom and cloves, and cassiaCassiaThe bark of a Chinese cinnamon tree, coarser and hotter than Ceylon cinnamon. It brings a warm, slightly sweet spice.Glossary bark adds a warm spice underneath. The warmth keeps the palate from reading as simple berry sweetness, and juniper returns on the finish. The other botanicals of the Wild Tasmanian recipe, including pepperberry, kunzea and lemon myrtleLemon myrtleThe leaf of an Australian tree with an intense lemon scent, purer than zest and without acidity.Glossary, give the pink gin the same native backbone. Cardamom adds a cool, aromatic lift that keeps the fruit fresh.

Bright Night recommends a pink spritz with lemonade and a twist of limeTwistA strip of peel twisted over the glass to release its oils, then dropped into the drink.Glossary, a long, sweet-tart drink that suits the fruit. For a drier glass, tonic keeps the murtis in focus while the spices come through more clearly. The distillery also links sales of the Pink Gin to conservation work for little penguins in Burnie, on the same north-west coast where the berries are picked. The natural colour also makes it a good choice for a pink Tom CollinsTom CollinsA long drink of gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda water, served over ice in a tall glass.Glossary.

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 Water, and stir gently once. A few murtis berries and a small lime wheel complete it. The berries repeat the fruit of the recipe, and the lime adds a sharp, fresh edge to the sherbet notes.