South Australia is known for its wine regions, yet a fragrant spirit has seen rising popularity in South Australia’s backyard. You can taste a selection of the state’s finest gin at the Royal Adelaide Show. (Image: Robert Hicks)
By Robert Hicks | @_roberthicks
This is your guide to some of our state’s best locally produced gin — or a guide to feeling a little tipsy around the showgrounds.
Drink responsibly.
If you don’t fancy gin (or are under 18) check out On The Record‘s curation of the best free things to do at the 2024 Royal Adelaide Show.
Fleurieu Gin
Fleurieu Gin, founded in 2021, is so new that their Production Plant and Distillery in Myponga only began construction in 2023.
With a selection of five gins to try, their Pepper Berry Blue is one of the more interesting varieties. The acidity of soda or tonic shifts the colour from blue to a light purple, but even the bitterness of a tonic cannot cut through the sweetness of this one. In a way, the sweetness is overpowering, but that is a strength — it is a perfect gin for newcomers to have straight.
For experienced drinkers looking for a classic taste, the Aussie Gold is a must try (the owner calls it his “favourite right now”). If you want it a tad tart, Juniper Boom is your go-to.
You can find owner Shane Magor in the Taste SA Pavilion. Keep an eye out for a modest setup of barrels and delightfully minimalistic gin bottles as you walk through.
Stay tuned for the opening of their distillery at 464 Forktree Road, Myponga SA 5202, only an hour away from the Adelaide CBD, in November 2024.
Ginny Pig Distillery
Ginny Pig Distillery, founded in McLaren Vale in 2020, prevails when it comes to sweetness — again, perfect for those beginning their gin journey.
Their pink gin is a classic sweet treat and will go down easy with anything you mix it with, whereas their blueberry is less tart than juniper but still a classic gin profile. Their fig gin comes in a bottle or in a premix and is best mixed with ginger ale, although experimentation is key with an off-kilter flavour like fig.
Their premixes, including a spiced fig and a blood orange, go down smoother and sweeter, but do lack the spiced kick you get out of a bottle.
You can find Ginny Pig Distillery’s stall in the Taste SA Pavilion and can visit their distillery in the Visitor Centre at 796 Main Rd, McLaren Vale SA 5171.
Prohibition Liquor Co.
Prohibition Liquor Co., founded in 2015 in Adelaide but based in Melbourne, is known for their beautiful bottles (and for leaving the best state in Australia).
Prohibition Gin was a mild disappointment — not to say they are awful, but they are maybe the least impressive at the show.
Although that may be due to another factor.
It is important to note the brand of tonic makes a difference — Fever-Tree, which many gin vendors use, changes the flavour of the gin significantly. It may be best to stick to soda water instead of tonic if offered Fever-Tree.
I tried their Juniperus and Field Blend Shiraz gins. Their Juniperus gin is served with a dehydrated blood orange and their Field Blend Shiraz gin with fresh orange; the sad, dehydrated orange transferred those properties to the sample, but the gin itself, through the mix, was not a standout.
The Field Blend Shiraz is surprisingly delightful, possessing a blend of not-too-sweet grapes atop the usual juniper gin profile.
You can find Prohibition Liquor in the Taste SA Pavilion (look for the over-the-top stall) and you can visit their Tasting Room at 22 Gilbert Street, Adelaide SA 5000.
Threefold Distilling
Threefold Distilling, founded in 2022, takes gin in another direction.
They do not have a classic juniper profile gin; instead, their closest would be their Mediterranean gin — an offering of herbal notes (think thyme and basil), alongside notes of saltiness (apparently from olives, but this is not very detectable). If you pick this up it will go down a treat paired with cheese.
Their more adventurous gin is called Tom Yummy (not to be confused with the spicy Thai soup). It is a blend of coconut, ginger and a litany of zesty flavours. This one pairs well with bold flavours. If you want it to complement instead of clash, try it with some Thai or Vietnamese food.
You can find Threefold Distilling in the Goyder Pavilion and can visit their cocktail bar and tasting room at 524 Anzac Highway, Glenelg East SA 5045.
Never Never Distilling Co.
Never Never Distilling Co., founded in 2016, made me want to “never never” stop drinking gin with the largest range of tastings on offer.
Appropriately, their “Carn The Pear” gin (a collaboration with Port Adelaide Football Club) was mixed with a cloudy pear soda provided by StrangeLove. Unsurprisingly, it tasted of pear but felt warm and cozy in the mouth, courtesy of cinnamon notes.
Their Triple Juniper gin was one of the best, and the simple mix was impressively powerful — the pine-y taste of a classic juniper gin is something everyone needs to try at least once. Preferably more.
Never Never’s Pink Pepper gin, like many peppery gins, is a profile suited more for tequila drinkers and will clear your nose just as well.
You can find Never Never in the Goyder Pavilion, just within sight of the main entrance, and visit their distillery at 56 Field St, McLaren Vale SA 5171.
Heaps Good Spirits
Heaps Good Spirits, founded in 2021, focus on both bold and sweet flavours.
Their native pink and chilli mandarin gins, as well as their coffee and salted caramel “ginspressos”, are all smooth and easy sipping gins that go down straight without difficulty. However, their native pink gin — which has an off-putting aftertaste of something between musk, fairy floss and emu bush — and “ginspressos” are not standouts.
Where Heaps Good Spirits truly shines is in their chilli mandarin gin. It’s a soft flavour at first, but then it hits you — not on the tongue or even in the nose but in the throat.
It is not a bad heat, either — its subtlety is reminiscent of ginger beer and would pair well with it too.
You can find Heaps Good Spirits in the Goyder Pavilion.
Route 9
Route 9 Distillery, whose gin brand Square 1 was founded in 2021, is of a wide quality — some not so impressive, but there is one standout that is awfully good.
They are, in general, not smooth gins and will provide a kick to the nose. Their Big Red gin is a simple dry gin, nothing too special, and their sweet and citrusy offerings — Unrind, Balhannah Blush and Xstrawdinberry — are, to me, unbalanced; either being too sweet or, in Unrind’s case, too sour.
Their Sea Legs Navy gin, however, is top class; so much so that it won silver at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. It is a smooth gin, with vanilla notes, but does not try to veer away from the juniper base.
It is their most potent gin, too, coming in at 58 per cent ABV. Say goodbye to seeing your legs once you finish a bottle.
You can find Route 9 in the Taste SA Pavilion and can visit their distillery and dining room at 37 Onkaparinga Valley Rd, Balhannah SA 5242.
Red Hen Spirits
Red Hen Spirits, founded in 2016, is the only distillery in the Adelaide CBD — and they make good, simple and subtle tasting gins — with, again, one great exception.
These gins are all smooth. Their Classic Dry Gin is a delicate, soft affair, with floral notes accompanying a hit of juniper.
Their Ruby Tuesday and Ultra Violet gins (the latter changing colours when mixed) are the sweet offerings, but are very subtle with it. Ruby Tuesday is a dry gin steeped in strawberries from the Adelaide Hills, which, in collaboration with Bowden Breweries, are then used to make their best seller Strawberry Gin Spritz Sour.
Their standout, though, is their Olive Twig gin. It is peppery, nutty, and minty — and distinct from the rest of their range. Honestly, it’s best to have it straight — it is that good. The experts recommend throwing in a sprig of rosemary, but it could go with anything. Experiment. Find what you like. Enjoy.
You can find their stall in the Goyder Pavilion.
You can visit Taste SA between 9am and 8pm on Saturday and 9am and 7pm on Sunday. Meanwhile, Goyder Pavilion is open between 9am and 9pm on Saturday and 9am and 8pm on Sunday.
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