Friday catchup

Gin’s botanical combinations have proven endless, from green ants to gooseberry. Its versatility, complexity and intense flavour profile has piqued the interest of spirits’ fans far and wide. It’s back in a big way, especially its most fun, recent reincarnation – pink gin, infused with fruits and berries or even rose petals. Below are my top picks.

Kate Peck

Seven Seasons Bush Apple Gin, 700ml, South Australia, $100

Bush Apple Gin celebrates native Australian botanicals with lemon myrtle, finger lime, boobialla (native uniper), and bush apple picked in monsoon season. It’s a dry style, zingy and alive on the palate, best served on ice or with tonic and Davidson plum.

Malfy Gin Rosa, 700ml, Italy, $59.95

If you can look at this bottle and not want to be in a stripy bathing outfit on a boat off the Amalfi Coast, then I take my sailor’s hat off to you. Serve this Italian delight with a pop of soda and a generous wedge of pink grapefruit alongside a bucket of fresh prawns – summer dreams don’t get much better than that!

Gin Lane 1751 Victoria Pink Gin, 700ml, United Kingdom, $58

Spicy with licorice and citrus notes, this is a weighty gin infused with eight botanicals. Inspired by the Gin Act of 1751 and debaucherous print Gin Lane created to promote it, it’s a full-bodied spirit that pairs with a swig of tonic, a fat wedge of lemon and ice.

Adelaide Hills Distillery 78 Degrees Sunset Gin, 700ml, South Australia, $80

This is another example of the great produce that comes out of Adelaide Hills, with cracking flavours of eucalyptus, bush apple and pine permeating the berryinfused, sunset-inspired bottle. Serve with tonic, strawberries and thyme.