Four Pillars unveils a palate-pleasing olive-leaf gin
As distilleries around the country turn their attention towards creating pretty-hued sweet sips in line with current trends, the boutique Victorian-based Four Pillars is doing things a little differently and has created what could very well be the world’s first olive-leaf gin. The savoury swill is guaranteed to have you dreaming of Mediterranean getaways and sojourns by the seaside, which is as close as we can get to a European adventure for the foreseeable future so we’ll take it!
Whether you like your martinis dirty, shaken or stirred – olives and gin have long been recognised as a match made in culinary heaven. Up until now, however, the plump oval fruit was considered merely a garnish or a side to the tipple. Well, the times they are a-changin’ and the crafty folk at Four Pillars have unveiled a palate-pleasing olive-leaf gin – it’s made with cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and olive leaves from no less than three different varietals, as well as seven Australian botanicals including juniper, coriander seed, rosemary, bay leaf, lemon myrtle, macadamia, orris root, fresh lemon and grapefruit. The resulting drop is not only savoury but textural, bright and perfect for any martini or Spanish-style G&T with a side of rosemary and lemon.
The idea for the unusual creation struck back in 2015 when the Four Pillars team created Cousin Vera’s Gin – a concoction made with their pals at Santamania in Madrid. It marked the distillery’s first foray into savoury, Mediterranean-inspired gin flavours and has remained as a cult classic in the Four Pillars canon ever since. A quick trip to the legendary Cobram Estate during olive harvest in 2019 confirmed what they had known all along – gin and olives are an unbeatable combination. Fast forward a year and, after countless trials, and the Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin is set to hit shelves this September – just in time for spring-time sipping! Still not convinced? The salty swill was recently awarded a gold medal at the 2020 World Spirits Competition in San Francisco, so there’s that. Subscribe to Four Pillars’ mailing list for first dibs on the pre-sale.
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