Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin, 70 cl

Product Information

Indeed, for my palate, this is definitely one where less tonic is more, somewhere in the region of one and a half/two parts tonic to one part gin being my ideal sweet spot. Too much and the liquorice became too dominant. Indeed, the distillery themselves suggest 2:1 tonic to gin. The aroma was enticing with a slight “Asian cooking” sort of feel to it. Sweet Vietnamese Cinnamon combined with pink peppercorns and Mineola orange. Juniper is mild and light. The other botanicals are the stars. While a great brand story is important, it absolutely must deliver on flavour. And it’s fair to say Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is more than up to the task. Neat

Four Pillars Gin | Rarest Dry Gin | Bergamot Gin Four Pillars Gin | Rarest Dry Gin | Bergamot Gin

Four Pillars is a cool, contemporary gin brand. They embody a lot of what I love about the gin revival – passion, great storytelling, innovation and provenance. It all combines to make Four Pillars one of Australia’s most talked about gins.There’s a delicate sweetness of liquorice too from the anise and this far more prominent with tonic. I found the liquorice flavour became even stronger, the higher the ratio of tonic to gin, so if that’s not your ‘thing’, keep the tonic to gin ratio on the lower side. Learning about Four Pillars’ distillation process it’s clear that they take great pride in how their gin is made. For the base, they source wheat spirit from New South Wales. This is then diluted to 30% ABV before distillation commences.

Gin Distilling Process - Four Pillars Gin

The word ‘innovation’ is often overused, but it certainly applies to Four Pillars in spades. If you’ve ever had a taste (or even a look) at their lineup of gins, it’s clear they’re guys who are pushing boundaries. Not in a shiny, coloured, sparkly kind of way, but in a direction which is in keeping with the category. Fans of contemporary style gins who can forgive the paltry presence of juniper here will find a lot to like. Beautifully made with a lot of bright, clear botanical character. The evolution on the palate is clear and gradual. Four Pillars Distillery have made an ideal sipping gin. With a sip, sweet orange leaps forward, followed by a hint of subtle florals. The finish is extremely smooth. Pepper providing spice rather than heat, with a hint of liquorice from the anise. Juniper is there throughout, but never takes the main stage, preferring to be the support act for the dominant citrus and spices. With tonic

Rare Dry Gin Salt

The rest of the botanicals includes several contemporary style gin standbys, like cardamom and lavender. All are distilled on a base of local grain spirit and diluted with local Yarra Valley water. Tasting Notes litres are then added to the pot of Wilma, along with the nine dry botanicals for maceration. The tenth and final botanical is orange, and quite unusually, these are distilled in their whole form, through vapour infusion. The vapours from the pot rise to the botanical basket above where the oranges are placed, steaming them to release their delightful flavour. Over seven hours, the liquid condenses and recondenses through the pot, basket and seven plates on the column still. These remain closed throughout to further purify the spirit, acting as a “mini-distillation” through each plate. This helps to make the gin super-smooth and comes out at an impressive 93.5% ABV. It’s then diluted down to 41.8% ABV and rested for a couple of weeks before bottling. Whole oranges