Gin lovers rejoice: 'There’s never been a more exciting time to be a gin and tonic drinker'

It makes sense that Andrew Marks would take a winemaker’s approach to distilling gin. He’s head wine maker at his family’s Gembrook Hill Winery in the Yarra Valley and has been making wine under his own label, The Wanderer, for many years. So in 2012, when contemplating his first batch of gin under the Melbourne Gin Company label, he turned to his winemaking skills.

“I taught myself to make gin and so I distilled every botanical in the gin individually, taking a winemaking approach,” he says, referring to the
10-plus botanicals that flavour his original dry gin, among them lemon myrtle, sandalwood and macadamia. “After I understood the distilling process better, I decided to try a different approach and to add another gin to the range.”

Enter the MGC Single Shot gin, recently released to acclaim and international medals. It also saw Marks recognised as a Gin Master at the 2018 Gin Master Awards in London.

Single Shot refers to the process where the botanicals in the gin are distilled simultaneously. Marks wanted a juniper-forward gin without chill filtering to retain more of the oils from the botanicals. This means that the spirit may “louche” (go faintly cloudy) when chilled, such as in a martini. Marks had martinis in mind when he made the gin but he was also adamant that Single Shot would be excellent in a gin and tonic.

“There’s never been a more exciting time to be a gin and tonic drinker,” Marks says. “There are so many great local gins on the market and now there’s a huge number of tonics and some of the best of those are also made locally.”

Local soft drink maker Capi has a couple of tonics available, Dry and Native, both noticeably less sweet than some of their bigger and more recognisable counterparts. Marks suggests the Dry with the original MGC Dry Gin, with a rosemary and grapefruit garnish. The Native Tonic and Single Shot are good with orange and thyme.

Marks is excited that MGC is being poured at the bar at the Princess Theatre, during the run of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Marks is a Potter fan and that fact that his gin is part of the Jinx & Tonic (MCG Dry, Aperol, rosemary syrup, orange bitters and tonic) seems something of a career highlight.

“The awards and the reaction to the new gin have made me feel like I’m on the right track,” Marks says. “I don’t do flavour by committee and make the gin to satisfy myself so it’s gratifying that people seem to be enjoying it too.”

Signature drink

Those after a G&T with an Aussie twist should go for the MGC Dry Gin, paired with local mixer maker Capi’s Native Tonic. It’s a low sugar tonic, subtly flavoured with lemon aspen, Tasmanian mountain pepper and Mt Zero salt.

Pair it with …

Andrew Marks likes the snack selection at Windsor’s Neptune, where they do a great version of the Southside using MGC gin. Try the charcuterie, the whipped cod roe on squid ink crackers or, for the famished, the ’nduja jaffle.

Just dropped

Melbourne Gin Company ‘Single Shot’ Gin, $95

There’s a pleasing restraint in the number of botanicals flavouring MGC’s second gin, just seven of them, all distilled at the same time (hence the name). Juniper is way out in front, ably backed by orange peel, angelica root, bergamot, cardamom, leatherwood honey and lavender. The result? A clean, full-flavoured and elegant gin that performs well both in a martini, in a G&T or simply on its own, served on the rocks. ●

melbournegincompany.com