It's Christmas gin time

The end of Spring Carnival has us thinking about Christmas, and more specifically, Christmas gin. Here are three of our favourites to kick the season off.

Four Pillars Christmas Gin

One of our favourite stories is the Four Pillars Christmas gin which has been released annually on Derby Day since 2015. The day is significant because it is the day the Four Pillars distiller, Cam Mackenzie’s mum Wilma would use the 1968 Australian Women’s Weekly recipe to make her Christmas while the rest of the family watched the races.

The Four Pillars Christmas Gin is a tribute to the four things he loves: Australia, Christmas, gin and his late mum, Wilma. 

Every Derby Day since 2015, Mackenzie and his family, joined by the families of fellow co-founders Stu Gregor and Matt Jones, make puddings to Wilma’s recipe and put them in the botanical basket of the Four Pillars' still, Wilma, and distill a gin. 

While this year, the Mackenzies, Gregors and Joneses can’t physically be together for the now annual tradition, the spirit of Wilma’s pudding making transcends closed borders and the Christmas gin prep continues over Zoom.  

“Once we have the Christmas pudding gin distilled, we turn to our solera of barrel aged gins. We have gin ageing in several 100+ year old Muscat barrels, including two 125-year-old ex-William Grants whisky barrels that, prior to arriving at Healesville, stored Rutherglen Muscat for 80 years. We take the gin distilled with Christmas puddings and blend it with the barrel aged gin, finishing it with a nip of Classic Rutherglen Muscat to round out the palate and add a touch of richness. 

“We also add a small amount of our “own” Muscat that is maturing at the distillery in old puncheons that used to hold aged Pedro Ximenez in the Barossa Valley. This extra component adds an additional layer of complexity and richness.

“The resulting gin smells like gin and tastes like Christmas. Aromatics of classic juniper and a hint of cinnamon, backed up with a rich, luscious palate with a hint of sweetness from the Muscat and richness from the extended barrel ageing,” said Cam.

It sounds exactly like Christmas should taste.

While you can expect the same delicious, Christmassy gin, perfect for sipping neat or pouring over your pudding, what does change each year is the label.  Four Pillars have collaborated with Melbourne-born and Berlin-based artist Lucy for this year’s artwork. She has reimagined the warmth, closeness and togetherness of a traditional Christmas day and places it in a surreal Australian landscape.  

Limited release available online.

Manly Spirits Co. Distillery

Manly Spirits Co. Distillery have launched their first-ever limited summer release, Amber Spiced Gin in collaboration with Sydney grinders, Campos Coffee, just in time for the festive season, capturing the essence of the holiday season.

"Summer holidays for us on the Beaches is all about endless days in the waved," said Vanessa Wilton, co-founder of Manly Spirits.

"Every year David (Whittaker, husband and Co-founder of Manly Spirits) and I look forward to those days in-between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when there’s no schedule or agenda – when you can forget about the worries of the year, enjoying the ocean, and sharing a drink with friends," she said.

The amber colour comes from an 18-hour infusion of cascara and vanilla.

"We tried distilling cascara at first, but found that infusing the cascara actually brought out more of those sweeter raisin-like flavours from the cascara, which made that candied-fruit characteristic a lot bolder – just how we like it,"  said distiller, Thiago Lopes, "Our gins are known for celebrating bold and unique flavours, and we wanted to do the same with this summer gin."

Vanessa’s family grew coffee in the hinterlands of Byron, so it only made sense that Manly Spirits’ first festive gin would be a family affair.

"We used a combination of Campos cascara, and my dad’s cascara from his farm in Byron. I have fond memories of roaming the rows of coffee trees, so it was very special to be able to call on dad for this summery Christmas gin," said Vanesssa.