Gin? Sure, I’ll have a sauv blanc
Strange Nature’s gin tastes like wine – and drinkers are loving it. Now, writes Craig Hoyle, the Marlborough distillery is expanding to Australia and the US.
Getting rid of alcohol isn’t where you’d expect a gin story to begin. It wasn’t even alcoholfree gin: instead, the Giesen brothers of Marlborough’s Giesen Wines were trying to strip the alcohol from a sauvignon blanc to produce a 0% product.
The resultant by-product ‘‘was essentially a sauvignon blanc spirit’’, says Rhys Julian, the general manager of Strange Nature.
‘‘At that point the winemakers were discarding it, but we thought there was a really good opportunity to take that byproduct and do something with it, because it retains heaps of those really tasty flavours from Marlborough sauvignon blanc. So we thought ‘well, what could we do with this?’ and gin started to gain some really nice momentum.’’
Julian, with an extensive background in alcohol and beverage marketing, was roped in with other investors including the Giesen brothers in a quest for the ultimate wine-based gin.
They started by adding juniper – the base botanical of all gins – and then cycled through more than a dozen different other botanicals trying to find a winning combination.
In the end, they stripped the recipe back, deciding that the combination of juniper and sauvignon blanc stood on its own merit. ‘‘Sauvignon blanc is really aromatic, it’s got those layers of grapefruit and tropical herbaceous qualities,’’ says Julian. ‘‘And so we settled on just one botanical, juniper, which is quite unusual and quite strange, hence our name, Strange Nature.’’
The resulting spirit stood out in a crowded gin market, thanks in part to Strange Nature’s distinctive labelling and bottle.
‘‘We think what’s required to tell a good story to New Zealand is to have a gorgeous-looking package, and we think Strange Nature’s exactly that,’’ says Julian.
‘‘There are many bottles on the shelf that are your standard proprietary gin-looking bottle, and that’s just not going to cut it when Super Liquor down the road has two or three bays of gin. So yeah, we’ve been fortunate to come up with a package that does really jump out.’’
So far, the strategy seems to be working.
Strange Nature claimed several prizes in 2022, including the innovation award at the New Zealand Spirit Awards, a gold medal at the international Gin Masters Competition in London, and special commendation for design and packaging at The Drinks Business Awards in London.
It’s a versatile drink, and Julian explains consumers shouldn’t feel limited to the traditional gin and tonic.
‘‘It’s packed full of flavour, and if you want to drink it neat or over ice that’s OK,’’ he says. ‘‘Strange Nature’s also really versatile in a classic gin martini, a dirty martini, or perhaps a negroni.’’
Sustainability, Julian says, is another key part of the gin’s success.
‘‘Because Strange Nature comes from grapes we can fully trace where the source is, so we’ve got a really honest origin. We see that as a real strength, because a lot of gin brands are only talking about where they’re sourcing the botanicals from, and there’s not a lot of disclosure around where the base spirit comes from.
‘‘But we’re all about the base spirit, and we can prove that to consumers.’’
As part of its sustainability drive the company is experimenting with recycling its bottles.
‘‘We go and collect those bottles and bring them back to our home in Marlborough, sterilise, fill, freshen up the label, put a cap on, and send it back out to the trade,’’ Julian says. ‘‘We’re just trialling this with 20 bars and restaurants because logistically it’s quite hard to coordinate, but it’s a solid start.’’
The venues involved were carefully selected, and include a couple of rooftop bars in Auckland – ‘‘rooftop bars seem to be all the rage at the moment’’ – and several ‘‘really nice speakeasy-type bars’’ in Christchurch and Wellington.
‘‘We spent some time working out what those 20 bars and restaurants looked like, and then we approached them and asked them if they wanted to be part of this recycling campaign,’’ says Julian.
Home drinkers are also encouraged to find another use for the bottles, which are ‘‘too beautiful to throw out’’. Julian says that although the bottles are fully recyclable the company would prefer they don’t end up in recycling bins.
‘‘Our social media strategy in the next few months is to talk to consumers about different ways of using [the bottles],’’ he says. ‘‘It could be a water carafe, it could be a vase, it could be whatever you might want it to be.’’
Strange Nature launched overseas in December, with liquor store chain Dan Murphy’s picking up the product for 260 outlets across Australia – the first container arrived in Melbourne not long before Christmas. ‘‘That seriously pushes us from a production standpoint, almost doubling our production, which is really exciting for us,’’ says Julian.
From January, Strange Nature will be available in select international airport duty-free retailers in Australia, and from April the gin will go on sale in key US states including New York, Georgia, California, Texas, Florida and Colorado.
‘‘We’ve worked really hard in New Zealand,’’ says Julian, describing how ‘‘proud’’ the team is of their first foray into the international market. ‘‘It’s a real game-changer for us.’’
How Strange Nature tastes
Strange Nature is naturally flavoured, bearing all the quintessential notes New Zealand sauvignon blanc is famous for – part tropical and zesty with hints of fresh pineapple, candied grapefruit and a touch of kaffir lime and blood orange; and part savoury and herbaceous – piney juniper, blackcurrant leaf and fresh green pepper.
The perfect serve
Over ice: less is more with this gin! To really maximise all the unique flavours of this premium grape gin, taste it neat or over ice.
With soda: simple yet effective. Load up a highball glass with ice and a spritz of carbonated water; garnish with a lime wedge. Or, for a refreshing alternative, try with East Imperial Grapefruit Soda.
With tonic: an absolute classic. A generous pour of gin over lots of ice, topped off with a premium tonic (like East Imperial Tonic), a lime wedge and a sprig of rosemary or thyme.
‘‘Because Strange Nature comes from grapes we can fully trace where the source is, so we’ve got a really honest origin.’’
Rhys Julian