'Western Melbourne Gin Pack'
$14 from each sale is donated to West Welcome Wagon, a not-for-profit organisation supporting asylum seekers and refugees in western Melbourne.
40-48% ABV / 5x30mL
When West Welcome Wagon approached us about a collaboration for a good cause, we were thrilled to jump on-board. Their work mainly involves providing material aid to asylum seekers in western Melbourne and its predominantly volunteer led.
In this pack you'll find five gins from distilleries in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Well, inner-west to be more precise. You'll get a taste of some rather different flavour profiles, ranging from a gin made with locally foraged yam daisies to a barrel aged number made by one of Melbourne's newest distillers.
Each gin is presented in a 30ml matte-black glass sampler bottle and labelled with the distillery, spirit name and where it was distilled. A sleek and eco-friendly themed slide-out box holds the bottles together. On the back of the box, you'll find some light reading - a brief profile of each distillery and spirit.
For each pack sold, we'll donate $14 directly to West Welcome Wagon.
Included gins
‘Quandong Gin’ by Autonomy Distillers, Spotswood
Founded by an ex-environmental scientist, Autonomy Distillery regards sustainability as incredibly important. They collect waste fruit for use in their products and shred all incoming cardboard for reuse as packing material. Quandong Gin is made by first collecting leftover orange peels from a local juice factory. These are combined with juniper, Tasmanian pepperberry and quandongs, a rather tart native fruit, in the botanical basket. The gin distillate is then infused with more quandongs to impart a ‘peachy’ taste and a vibrant hue.
‘Yam Daisy Gin’ by Here‘s Looking At You Kid Spirits, North Melbourne
Flaunting one of the most unusual names we’ve come across, Here’s Looking At You, Kid Spirits was founded by Liz Beech who has been involved with food and beverage businesses for most of her career. Inspired by the flavours and possibilities of distilling after a trip to Scotland, Liz initially started distilling in Mordialloc before moving to North Melbourne during the pandemic. Yam Daisy Gin is made from yam daisies, also known as Murnong, an indigenous herb which the team have foraged from around Melbourne. It’s sweet and earthy with a hint of coconut and orange citrus.
‘Barrel Aged Gin’ by Hobsons Distillery, Altona North
Established in 2020, Hobson’s Distillery crams in an impressive array of equipment into a small space. In a warehouse no larger than a hundred square meters or so, they've installed fermenters, copper pot stills, storage vats, some barrel racking and even a small test lab. Barrel Aged Gin is a limited edition gin aged in an American Oak cask that previously held whisky. Each batch of Barrel Aged Gin is aged in a different cask and the maturation time varies from several weeks to several months depending on how active the cask is. Enjoy neat, on ice or in a ginger based cocktail.
‘Native Fusion Gin’ by TAKA Gin Co, West Footscray
TAKA Gin Co is a highly unique distillery. Whilst there are many Australia gin brands that feature native ingredients, TAKA is the first in Victoria to do so while being majority female and Indigenous-owned at the same time. Founder Niyoka Bundle cut her teeth in hospitality and learnt how best to use indigenous ingredients while running a catering company with her husband. Native Fusion Gin features juniper, coriander, angelica root, cassia, finger lime, orris root, desert lime, lemon-scented gum and native lemongrass, many of which are foraged from around Melbourne or sourced from Indigenous harvesters. We’ve been a little bit cheeky in including this gin in this set, as it’s distilled in Collingwood by a third party, but the soul of it sits snugly in the west!
‘Bear Dry Gin’ by White Possum, Altona North
You might know of us as a maker of tasting sets, but we started making spirits in-house from 2018. Bear Dry Gin is designed to be a casual pouring, no-frills gin. We make it using just two botanicals - juniper and coriander seed. These are infused then distilled in a copper pot still, then bottled at 48% abv. This higher-than-usual strength means it's versatile and serves as a great backbone for many cocktails. Bear Dry Gin is actually not a product normally available to the public. It's a gin which we supply exclusively to bars and restaurants for on-premise service. Enjoy it in a G&T or in a stiff Martini. As the gin itself doesn‘t have a particular botanical lean, match the garnish to the type of tonic/vermouth you’re using.
