FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 35 OF 80
KALKI MOON, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
We are crossing the seas again and heading for Australia's rum country! Bundaberg Rum Distillery was established in 1888 and, whilst Bundaberg is still very much synonymous with rum and sugarcane, the region has also developed quite a craft spirits scene of its own. It's the gateway to the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef and has a thriving tourism industry, with plenty of restaurants, bars, breweries and distilleries to visit.
And this is where we find Kalki Moon, a family-run distillery born in the cane fields of Bundaberg.
Rick and Kylie Prosser are no strangers to the spirits business. Rick had spent more than 16 years perfecting his craft, including 13 years at Bundaberg Rum, where he became one of only five people in the company's history to hold the title of Master Distiller. He then spent three years as a freelance alcohol consultant, working with other distillers and distilleries.
He says he really fell in love with gin around 2014, when he was working as a consultant for a start-up distillery. Although they weren't actually producing gin, the experience sent him off on something of a gin pilgrimage, and when that contract finished, he decided it was time to start making spirits for himself rather than someone else.
In March 2017, Kalki Moon was born.
At the time, there were no other gin distillers in the Bundaberg area, so setting up a gin distillery in a region dominated by sugarcane and rum was a brave move. But it turned out to be a pretty good one.
The name Kalki Moon came from the family's home in Kalkie, a Bundaberg suburb. One evening Rick was looking out over the endless sugarcane fields and saw the shimmering sunset followed by the full moon rising over the cane. That image inspired the name and has remained central to the brand.
They started on a shoestring budget, initially using two small stills — a 100-litre still for gin and a 200-litre still for rum. By 2020, demand had grown enough for a serious upgrade, and they commissioned a 1,000-litre copper still from Sunshine Stills in Victoria. It was a tenfold increase in capacity and a $300,000 investment. And, of course, it has a name - Marie, after Rick's grandmother, who died in 2009. Rick remembers cooking with her when he was young and describes her as something of a matriarch of the family, so naming this rather magnificent piece of equipment after her was a lovely tribute.
That still is now a pretty impressive piece of kit, but it hasn't changed the philosophy behind the gin. Kalki Moon still describes itself as a family-owned, premium Australian distillery, with Rick at the head of production and Kylie managing the distillery, alongside their children and other members of the family.
The gin range has expanded considerably since I first wrote this too.
The Classic Gin is still the everyday expression, but it is now bottled at 37% ABV rather than the 37.5% I originally recorded. It uses just five botanicals — juniper, coriander, angelica root, cardamom and lemon myrtle — and has won Gold at the International Wine & Spirits Competition.
Their Australian Premium Gin remains at 42% and uses 10 botanicals, including locally grown lemon and cinnamon myrtle, Bundaberg ginger and Australian native finger lime. They describe it as a traditional London Dry, with juniper and citrus coming through on the palate. And then there is the Navy Strength, bottled at a hefty 57%. It's big, bold and juniper-led, with plenty of angelica and liquorice root and Bundaberg ginger bringing the spice.
But it was the barrel-aged gins that really caught my attention.
Solstice was — and still is — something rather special. The concept is exactly as the name suggests: the gin is aged between one summer solstice and the next winter solstice, or vice versa, making the seasons part of the maturation process.
When I wrote this originally, I had the third edition, the 2018/19 release, which had been aged in a Pedro Ximénez sherry barrel. Only 365 bottles were released and they disappeared very quickly, making it one of the more exclusive and expensive Australian gins around.
Well, things have moved on a bit!
The current release is the fifth expression of Solstice, this time aged in a Spanish Oloroso barrel, bottled at 47% ABV and currently selling for A$120 a bottle. It's still described by Kalki Moon as Rick's signature deluxe spirit and is intended to be enjoyed neat or over ice rather than hidden in a G&T.
And Kalki Moon has gone considerably further down the rum road too.
The current range includes Cane Farmer Plant Cane, a pure single cane spirit, rum liqueur, Queensland Rum, Spiced Rum and several more serious, limited releases. The Four Rivers Series, for example, includes rums made from molasses, water and yeast, double-pot-distilled and then aged for years in individual barrels. The current Kolan release was bottled at a rather serious 66% ABV after five years and five months in a single French oak ex-Australian Port barrel.
So my original thought that they were “looking at” getting into rum is now very much out of date. They're properly in it!
There are also vodkas and an ever-growing selection of liqueurs, including coffee, chocolate, chocolate mint, caramel and pink gin liqueur. There are even seasonal and collaborative gins now, including Kylie's Summer Gin, a recipe created by Mum and distilled by son.
Even the bottle has had a makeover since my original post. Kalki Moon has introduced a new custom glass bottle, with the 2017 moon phases embossed into the side, taking the design right back to the year the company began.
Kalki Moon's current home is at 22 Commercial Street, Svensson Heights, Bundaberg, Queensland 4670, just a short drive from the centre of Bundaberg and close to Bundaberg Airport.
The distillery is fully operational Monday to Friday and offers tours and tastings at weekends too.
"A gin aged from solstice to solstice."
GIN GIN MULE
Kalki Moon Classic Gin
Bundaberg Ginger Beer
Fresh lime
Mint
A pretty perfect combination of Bundaberg's two great loves: gin and ginger.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."