Master Mariner Rowland Short navigated the Earth’s oceans as both ship’s captain and aboard his self-made yacht, making landfall in faraway ports in search of exotic and native botanicals that would marry seamlessly with his other great passion: gin.
Botanicals, he says, are the natural world’s language of joy and splendour; arousing human senses of smell, taste, sight and sound. The perfect antidote to an endless horizon of blue ocean.
Finally settling in McLaren Vale, South Australia Rowland set up a beautiful column still, and embarked on a new journey. Today, Settler’s Spirits combines botany and exploration with long established traditions to produce a range of expertly crafted and distinctly blended gins.
Lovers of classic styles will be enchanted by ‘Rare Dry Gin’ and the trophy winning ‘Old Tom’. The adventurous at heart will be seduced by the exotic citrus tang of Japanese Yuzo, or the G & Tea Breakfast Gin; infused with Earl Grey tea, native bush honey and a smack of Mediterranean citrus.
A respect and understanding of provenance, aroma and flavour sees each botanical individually hung and steamed to preserve and highlight each distinctive character.
This is not a practice that harks back into the history of gin, but a modern twist on technique that produces a distinctly brighter, crisper and more defined palate profile.