FIRST JOURNEYS - A RACE AROUND THE WORLD 2020 - PIN 14 OF 23
MANLY GIN, Sydney, Australia
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME.
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Day 8...
It’s nearly time to move on, but a trip to Australia would not be complete without a stop in Sydney and a ferry ride over to Manly Beach.
I was fortunate enough to be part of the online launch for Lilly Pilly , so I’ve had a virtual tour of the Manly Spirits Distillery and someday I would love to visit in person.
This is a family-owned distillery, with founders David and his wife Vanessa at the forefront of operations. Their beautiful bottles are tactile and intricate, right down to their trademark Eastern Blue Devil Fish on the base, and it’s certainly not one of those bottles you’ll ever want to throw in the recycling!
In fact, if you’re local, you can take your bottle down and have it refilled at the Steampunk Fish refilling station at the distillery. This was commissioned from a local artist and is also made from recycled metals and parts.
Their spirits take inspiration from the stunning marine environment and coastline around them, and they use sustainably foraged native and marine botanicals. Their Australian Dry Gin includes, alongside the traditional botanicals, sea lettuce, finger limes, anise myrtle and mountain pepper leaf.
I decided to make a cocktail that was sea-inspired and paid tribute to their local surroundings. I made a slushy of sorts using their Australian Dry Gin, lime juice and tonic water, and carefully topped it with blue curaçao to give the effect of the sea and breaking waves.
And so I also have to wave goodbye now to Australia and move on, otherwise I’ll never make it back to London by World Gin Day!
Where to next? Keep following to see where I next land!
"Steampunk Fish"
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."