Botanica Gin and Spirits Journey
Tour the sensory depths of Australian boutique distillers and the native ingredients that they all share.
Overview
Beer's great for a hot day and whisky for a cold night, but few alcoholic drinks are as versatile as the botanically complex cure-all: gin. If you have a base understanding of distilling, you know it's actually a relatively simple offshoot of vodka, but it's a spirit that has a lot of depth, both for itself and the drinks it produces.
If you love a gin and tonic, martini, negroni, gin fizz or even just a dram of the base spirit, you ought to hit up this year's Botanica Gin and Spirits Journey. Hitting North Sydney from Thursday, May 8 to Sunday, May 11, this weekend celebration of gin (and spirits) is taking over a 150-metre tunnel complex inside the Coal Loader Centre for Sustainability with a tasting trail through 25 participating distilleries.
Expect award-winning gins, vodkas, whiskys, rums and liqueurs from boutique distillers like Brix Distillers, Ester Spirits, Bathurst Grange Distillery, Gindu, Manly Spirits Co., Hickson House Distilling Co., Renegade Spirits and many more. The event goes beyond simply enjoying what's in the glass, though, shining a light on what these drinks all have in common: native Australian botanicals.
To that end, you'll also come across more than just drinks. Throughout the corners and hallways of the Coal Loader tunnels, you'll also encounter native-inspired delicacies, including sensory stations to learn about, feel and sample the base native botanicals that help craft the liquid flavours you know and love.
For $95 per ticket, you can book attendance for a two-and-a-half-hour session, either 3.30-6.00pm and 6.30-9.00pm on Thursday, May 8; 12.00-2.30pm, 3.00-5.30pm and 6.30-9.00pm on Friday, May 9; 10.00am-12.30pm, 1.00-3.30pm, 4.00-6.30pm and 7.00-9.30pm on Saturday, May 10; and 10.00am-12.30pm, 1.00-3.30pm and 4.00-6.30pm on Sunday, May 11. Each ticket includes tastings, a free tote bag, an event map, a tasting glass and other Botanica goodies. And of course, you'll be able to purchase bottles of spirits to take home.
