Gin-gle bells gin-gling at The Canberra Distillery.

Posted on 25 November, 2022

It’s always busy at The Canberra Distillery’s headquarters in Mitchell. But from November to December, things get a little crazy.

Christmas is the distillery’s biggest time of year and the gin still has been going all year to prepare enough product to see them through. It turns out gin is a great Christmas present, and with a number of award-winning varieties including Summer Gin, Blood Orange Gin, the HerCanberra French Earl Grey Gin, and the deliciously Christmassy-coloured Sloe Gin, there’s something for every palate.

Dear Santa. Just give me a gin cube.

The team has made things even more gift-worthy, creating their gin cubes of four 50ml bottles (also available in 200ml) of each variety, boxed into a cube (so easy to wrap!) for someone you really love.

Pop one of their delightfully festive Christmas baubles into the box for added effect. The baubles contain dried fruits and botanicals to add to your drinks and look absolutely divine hanging off a Christmas tree.

Not to be left out, whisky and rum drinkers can take heart that there’ll be something under the Christmas tree for them too with their Old George Reserve Whiskey and rum bottles nicely barrel-aged and ready for consumption.

Christmas baubles which actually serve a purpose.

Distillery manager Paul said the team were gearing up for long days and late nights, filling online orders, manning the cellar doors and also running pop-ups at Canberra Centre, Southpoint Tuggeranong and Westfield Belconnen. This meant people could stop by, ask questions, have a look at the different varieties for sale for themselves, and of course, have a little taste too.

“It’s always crazy this time of year. People love to shop and gift local and we are really proud to say our product is always popular.”

It’s also a first gin-gly Christmas for newcomer to the team, French winemaker-turned-gin-distiller Leonore Salancon. Leo has worked in vineyards in France, South Africa and the United States before happily settling in Canberra and turning her attention from grapes to juniper berries. “Australian gin is well-regarded internationally. I have always wanted to make gin,” she says.

Leo checking the barrel-aged product.

And while the distillery is frantically producing enough of its most popular lines to meet demand, Leo plans on experimenting to create her own distinctive tipple. “It’s going to be a sour gin, not sweet, based more on cooking herbs and botanicals.”

She’s just got to get through Christmas first.

Meanwhile, local foodie and Canberra Distillery recipe developer Emma Bickley says gin will most definitely be featuring on her Christmas table this year because, not only is gin a perfect gift, but it is also a perfect Christmas drink.

Gin under the tree, a bauble on the tree, put them together and you get a very merry Christmas.

“Gin shines at any time of year, but in the warmer months it really comes into its own as a refreshing party sip. Gin is the perfect drink to experiment with garnishes, working as a complement to the foundation of distilled botanicals,” she said.

“Take the Summer Gin—by adding fresh, aromatic strawberries and lush green mint, you can make it festive. Or you could just as easily go with juicy mango, plump blackberries and passionfruit for a pavlova-in-a-glass.

“Don’t be shy, let the gin be your foundation and vibrant experimentation will surely follow. But a word of caution: choose your tonic wisely and, for the love of all that is jingly, use it sparingly—gin isn’t cordial!”

And look, she has even developed a recipe just for us that will ratchet up the good cheer on 25 December (or any of the days before or after).

Recipe: The Mo-ho-ho-jito

Makes 2.

Vibrant, fragrant and refreshing—this cocktail has everything for an Aussie summer Christmas.

The trick is to muddle the strawberries so they release all those ruby red juices into the cocktail shaker before adding all the other ingredients.

Mint and lime add loads of zing while Summer Gin gets the party started with its pavlova flavours, so welcome on a Chrissy table.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe strawberries, extra for garnish
• handful mint leaves
• 30ml simple syrup
• 90ml Canberra Distillery Summer Gin
• 30ml lime juice
• ice
• chilled soda water
• sliced lime for garnish

Method

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries and half the mint leaves. Add simple syrup, gin, lime juice and ice. Stir and pour into highball glasses 1/3 full of crushed ice. Top with soda water and garnish with fresh strawberry, lime and mint.

Images by Emma Bickley of @photobeforeweeat