Mt Fyffe Shearwater Gin

Imagine standing on the coast and taking a big breath of fresh sea air: that is how Mt Fyffe Distillery introduces Shearwater Gin. Its distiller, from Kaikōura on the north-east coast of the South Island, wanted to see how local seaweed would work in a gin, and balanced it with the floral flavours of rosehip and blue borage found in the mountains, alongside three other main gin botanicals. The small-batchSmall batchProduction in small quantities per distillation run, often in a small still. The term has no legal definition.Glossary gin is bottled at 42% ABV in a 750 ml bottle.

Dry · Floral

The result is what the distillery calls a unique, oceanic gin. Seaweed brings a savoury, lightly saline note, closer to a sea breeze than to brine. Rosehip adds a soft, tart, fruity touch, and blue borage, a star-shaped flower with a fresh, cucumber-like taste, gives a cool floral lift. JuniperJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary keeps the dry ginDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins frame, and the finish is clean, with a faint salinity that lingers after the flowers. Hutton's shearwater, the seabird that breeds only in the Kaikōura mountains and fishes off its coast, is a fitting emblem for a gin that joins sea and hills. The salinity is gentle.

Mt Fyffe's Tiaki promise sums up its approach: the distiller picks many botanicals sustainably through the year, takes only what is needed and gives back to the community through donations. The gin's coastal side suits a dry 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 a lemon twistTwistA strip of peel twisted over the glass to release its oils, then dropped into the drink.Glossary, or a Gibson. Fresh oysters or a plate of crayfish, a Kaikōura speciality, make obvious partners.

For the G&T, pour 45 ml of Shearwater Gin over ice in 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 and slowly add 100 ml of Fentimans Mediterranean Tonic Water. Add a short fresh rosemary sprig and a lemon twist to the glass, and serve the same garnish on a small plate beside it. The herbal tonic suits the seaweed, and the lemon brightens the flowers.