There is no dominant botanical upon the initial sip, with all parts striking a strange, bushy harmony. Aniseed, though, as it usually wants to do, becomes the drunk at the party half way through, making noise, falling over, dominating an otherwise balanced affair… It’s a bold botanical to use, especially as it takes no time to steal every bit of attention from the curious Kalahari truffle. It was clear that the team at Blend Etiquette in South Australia has really nailed the approach with some very clever choices in botanicals, the means of distillation and use of an excellent grape based spirit to carry them. Working closely with Paul we sampled, made minor tweaks in %’s and shared ideas of what we wanted the nose and feel to provide. To make Cruxland Gin, du Toit and the team produce a neutral wine spirit. This spirit is then placed into the 500-litre pot still alongside a makeshift teabag containing the majority of the botanicals. The Kalahari truffle is distilled separately, and doesn’t meet the rest of the botanicals until long after the run, where the two distillates are blended along with additional grape neutral spirit and cut down with water to 43% ABV. Cruxland Gin to taste… Now… Kalahari truffles are – according to all sources – a rich, earthy addition. While their inclusion is a real point of interest, in our opinion their presence isn’t that well felt. Instead it’s those crazy fynbos ingredients that shout out, along with the grape base and aniseed, resulting in a crisp, bushy green gin that very much errs on the side of a “New Western”. Other serving options include tall with soda and fresh thyme, or even a thin slice of fresh ginger. Or you can try it chilled neat from the freezer.

Redwood Distillery’s owner Paul Dadd was very thorough with the way he wanted to develop a Truffle Gin. He commissioned two contract distillers to come up with prototypes, using different production styles and botanicals. We knew our Cocoa Gin was too good to leave alone, so we went one step further. We took our lively, floral gin, infused it into a chocolate truffle and sealed it in a sleek, crisp 70% cocoa spherical chocolate casing. If you love chocolate and you love gin, then this is a combination made for you.The cultivation of truffles takes several years to come to fruition after planting an orchard and the yield can vary each year. For more about the process see this article from the Australian Truffle Growers Association. Pour 500 milliliters of Gin Mare into an empty bottle. Add the truffle-infused butter and cover tightly. Then shake vigorously to infuse. Transfer to the truffle-infused Gin Mare Mare to the freezer and reserve for 24 to 36 hours. So given it’s unique flavours, expense and scarcity, it’s easy to see why gins featuring truffles are a rare thing indeed. I estimate there may be less than a dozen truffle gins around the world. Strain the truffle-infused Gin Mare through a fine mesh cloth filter to remove the solids. Repeat as necessary until all visible fats have been removed. Reserve and set aside. Tonka bean-infused bitters ingredients

Nothing rounds off the day like a crisp gin and tonic with plenty of ice! Fast becoming the nation's favourite top-shelf tipple, this well-loved classic is fabulously versatile. With so many different botanical blends out there, it can be hard to know what works. We’ve created a pairing that was just destined to be! Our unique Cocoa Gin is crying out for ice and a thin slice of orange to hit the spot.Therefore I was very excited earlier this year when I was approached by Truffle Mad’s Gin and truffle producer, Paul Dadd to help him create a new gin, I leapt at the challenge. Working with Geordan Elliss at Blend Etiquette to create a Truffle Gin recipe was a great experience. Her botanicals choice made a lot of sense together with the truffles and meant it would harmonise with the spirit and offer a natural expression of the environment if came from. Once I received the prototypes I reviewed them as I would in a spirits competition, Non-partial judge and scoring as I went. I immediately found some were a gorgeous “Scandi-style” gin that had a rich palette, with complex yet balanced botanical flavour profiles.