Australia’s gin boom is still bursting with a unique mix of Australian botanicals and juniper goodness — and it shows no signs of a drop-off in the quality we all know and love. (Image: Robert Hicks)
By Robert Hicks | @_roberthicks
Feeling a bit under the weather this flu season? Why not kick sickness to the kerb with a little gin?
This is your guide to gin at the Royal Adelaide Show — make sure to check out last year’s guide as well! We’re covering some of the same distilleries, but with completely different gin!
Drink responsibly.
New offerings
Five Eleven Distilling
Founded in 2022 in South Australia’s north-eastern suburbs, Five Eleven Distilling offers a selection of classic gin profiles.
Their house gin is a classic London Dry. It’s quite simple and doesn’t really put a foot wrong. I suggest mixing it with Strangelove’s Coastal Tonic.
The selection at Five Eleven Distilling is varied, but their gin is the best. (Image: Robert Hicks)
The Róisín — their rose gin — is a nice compromise between some of the more overwhelmingly sweet gins and the more delicately-bodied classic dry gins. At the forefront, it doesn’t quite give you the sweetness you’d expect, but the finish is quite honeyed — not too sweet, but still cover the tongue with a subtle stickiness. Avoid flavoured tonic and stick to a neutral one for the best experience.
You can find Five Eleven Distilling in the Taste SA Pavilion.
Frankly Gin
Frankly Gin, a distillery in Wingfield in Adelaide’s inner-northern suburbs, is franklymarvellous. Now that I’ve gotten through my court-mandated pun quota, let me give you the rundown. They have seven gins on offer — and they are good. Their heights, however, are insurmountable.
At their peak is their Blossom gin, with a smell so unique that you will struggle to find it anywhere else. Its main botanical is almond blossom, and it’s both sweet and woody in smell and taste.
Frankly Gin is frankly wonderful. (Image: Robert Hicks)
If you want something even sweeter, their Heritage gin is a rebranded Christmas gin — but if you weren’t told you wouldn’t know it. The classic Christmas flavours aren’t here; instead, you get an off-kilter but charming mix of cinnamon and caramelised pineapple. Drink it neat.
Their Heaven gin is just that: heaven. Smooth, sweet, subtle — it’s a delight on the way down. Ironically, the Hell gin, Frankly Gin’s navy strength, is even smoother, but the smell is something else.
“It’s called hell for a reason,” the lady at the stall tells me. Hell has a lemon myrtle aftertaste, then.
You can visit their stall in the Taste SA Pavilion.
Beachtree Distilling Co.
Beachtree is a Queensland export, and their bottles are absolutely gorgeous. So is the taste.
Their Koala Native Citrus gin is a very classic juniper and citrus affair, whereas their Quokka Native Berry gin is pepperberry-forward. If you leave it to linger on the tongue, the complexity behind it — notes of finger lime, elderberries, and hibiscus — comes to the fore.
Beachtree Distilling Co. have some of the most gorgeous gin and bottle designs out there. (Image: Robert Hicks)
If you’re in the mood for something quintessentially Australian, try the Native Skippy gin. It hits you with wattleseed and a sweet, woody gum finish.
You can try their vodka, rum, whiskey, and liqueurs at their stall in the Goyder Pavilion.
Mad Monkey Distillery
I’m being a bit disingenuous by putting Mad Monkey in an article all about gin… and that’s because they don’t offer any gin — they’re a rum distillery based in Dudley Park in Adelaide’s inner-north suburbs.
But this is my article — I get to include what I want. And what Mad Monkey has is something adjacent to gin.
Mad Monkey is mad good — it isn’t gin, but it’s just as good. (Image: Robert Hicks)
On first smell, you can tell their Flora cane spirit isn’t a gin, but there is a subtle sweetness that, mixed with botanicals like lemon and anise, evokes some of the sweeter London Drys. Treat it like a gin and mix with a neutral dry tonic — the combination conjures a breath of the ocean: a mix of sweet, refreshing air and salty lusciousness tied together by bitter quinine.
Try their Flora — and their other cane spirits — in the Goyder Pavilion. You can also visit their Distillery for some rum and grub at 6 La Salle St, Dudley Park SA 5008.
Revisiting some classics
Route 9 Distillery
I wrote about Route 9 in last year’s Distilling Down Under guide. They have a wide variance in quality, frankly. I won’t repeat myself here, but I will endorse their Sea Legs Navy Gin again — it’s smooth, frankly addictingly so, with a classic juniper profile, notes of vanilla and a tiny bit of wood-fired oak.
The Square 1 range is varied and bright. (Image: Robert Hicks)
Route 9 don’t rest on their back catalogue, however. This year, they have their Oberlin Pinot Noir, just one part of a three-part collaboration with Hahndorf winery Sidewood Estate. It’s a sweet, bold, and fruity drop that, thankfully, doesn’t really have any harsh notes or taste like tannins or alcohol. Route 9 suggests mixing it with Mischief Brew’s Quandong Soda, but you can easily sip this one neat or over ice. The distillery also suggests using it for a not-so-bitter negroni. I’ll leave it to you, but you really can’t go wrong with this one.
You can find Route 9 in the Taste SA Pavilion and visit their distillery and dining room at 37 Onkaparinga Valley Rd, Balhannah SA 5242.
Never Never Distilling Co.
I’m glad Never Never exists because, while I’ve felt many emotions drinking gin, I’ve never really had a gin pull things out of the recesses of my oldest memories.
Just… do yourself a favour and try their Pantonne Negroni. I genuinely can’t place the sweet-but-also-bitter flavour, but it reminds me of being a kid, visiting my late grandma and nicking sweets (that weren’t actually that sweet) from under her nose — not knowing they were left out for me. Nothing has ever felt so close to a warm hug; you’ll never want to let it go once you try it.
Never Never is never not good. (Image: Robert Hicks)
The rest of Never Never’s selection is incredible, too. Their Oyster Shell Gin is a subtle salty sea concoction, a perfect pairing for Fever Tree’s Mediterranean Tonic. A Beeswax and Olive Gin sounds strange, but the pairing offers a soft mouthfeel that balances fragrant juniper, sweet honey and salty olive notes — it’s perfect for a martini, too.
You can find Never Never in the Goyder Pavilion and visit their distillery at 56 Field St, McLaren Vale SA 5171.
Prohibition Liquor Co.
If you read last year’s guide, you’d know I had an iffy experience with Prohibition Liquor Co. — and not just because they left the best state for Victoria.
With hindsight, I tried their worst gins in 2024.
The highlight is their Chihuly In The Botanic Garden Gin — it’s incredibly fragrant, so much so that tonic does little to mask the botanicals. And it’s got many on offer; let it linger on your tongue and taste tiny bursts of kumquat, lemon thyme, and a blend of citrus.
Hopefully they don’t ban gin again… (Image: Robert Hicks)
Their Blood Orange Gin is no slouch either; it has a very muted smell and perfectly mixes tartness and sweetness — something quite difficult to do if previous blood orange offerings are anything to go by.
Their 2024 Christmas Gin is a sweet and spiced joy, just perfect for a cold night. Put it over the top of ice cream, have it in a milkshake, or use it as a substitute for rum in rum balls.
Ginny Pig
Holding the title of “Cutest Gin Around”, Ginny Pig is known for their sweet offerings — check out last year’s guide for those, because this is the year of their more classic-profile gins.
Ginny Pig also offer a selection of pre-mixed drinks. (Image: Robert Hicks)
The Botanic Gin is heavy on the pepperberry, and light on elderflower and rosemary. Juniper cuts through it all — it’s very much a classic gin. Ironically, their Classic Dry is more of a contemporary gin, taking in notes of mandarin, grapefruit and star anise and veering away from a super heavy juniper note.
You can visit Ginny Pig Distillery’s stall in the Taste SA Pavilion and can find their distillery in the Visitor Centre at 796 Main Rd, McLaren Vale SA 5171.
You can visit Taste SA between 9am and 8pm on Friday and Saturday, and 9am and 7pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Meanwhile, Goyder Pavilion is open between 9am and 9pm on Friday and Saturday and 9am and 8pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.
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