FIRST JOURNEYS - A RACE AROUND THE WORLD 2020 - PIN 13 OF 23
NEVER NEVER GIN, McLaren Valley, Australia
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME.
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Day 7...stop 2
When I read the label on the bottle and it said “Our Triple Juniper Gin is a juniper judo chop right in the flavour bone”, I knew that the only place to follow my virtual tour of Japan would be in South Australia, taking in the views from apparently the tallest hill in McLaren Vale!
There are many similarities between South Africa and Australia, not least the climate, and reading all about the unique wine region in McLaren Vale made me think back to Cape Town and the wine-growing areas there.
The founders — George, Sean and Tim — of Never Never Distilling have gone the extra mile to ensure that a visit to their distillery will be a regular occurrence, with not only distillery tours, tastings, an onsite bar, outside seating and picnic areas, but, should you wish to make a full day of it, food on site too via an Italian-Mediterranean kitchen.
Pizza, gin and a vista — my kinda heaven!
Although they didn’t start out on Chalk Hill, they knew this is where they wanted to end up, and so their label design is a representation of McLaren Vale. Serendipitously, it happens to be pretty close in design to the actual view when you park up at the distillery.
They were also very much inspired by the Never Never, from which they take their name. This is the term used to describe the vast Australian expanse beyond the horizon, for to step into the Never Never is to be adventurous and make a journey into the unknown — which I’m sure mirrors the journey they have had setting up their distillery.
They wanted to start a juniper revolution all over again and bring juniper back to the limelight, and they certainly have done just that.
Triple Juniper Gin is so-called because they process the juniper three different ways — by steeping, pot and vapour distillation. Juniper is at the heart of everything they make and, along with the classic botanicals and bags of citrus, they also use Australian pepper berry.
For a relatively new business, they have racked up several awards and have an excellent range of products on offer.
I’m serving this up as a classic G&T, in a wine glass, because I’m fancy, with a sprig of lemon thyme and a twist.
I’m sure there is pizza in the fridge too — it won’t be as good, but thank goodness for my imagination!
"Juniper Judo Chop"
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."