Animus Distillery Arboretum Gin 500ml

Animus Distillery Arboretum Gin 500ml is the standard bottling of this herbaceous Macedon Ranges gin.

The garden does the heavy lifting. Beds at the Kyneton distillery supply strawberry gum leaf for its menthol lift, bush tomato for a tamarillo-like savouriness, rosemary, bay and lemon thyme for herbal depth, and mountain pepperberry for a peppery bite, all cut on distillation day. Orange, both zest and flesh, rounds things out, while capsicum, sarsaparilla, cardamom, clove, coriander seed, angelica, star anise, turmeric and lemon myrtle sit underneath. Juniper is never in doubt. Five hundred millilitres is the house format across the range, and this is the gin in it that rewards the most attention.

Dry and sappy, with pine, green herb and a warm pepper finish, smooth enough to drink neat. Over ice with tonic and a rosemary sprig is the simple route. It is also one of the better Australian gins for a Martinez or a Gibson.