Here we go again – an inebriated journalist at GadgetGuy reviewing more booze. Well, Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin & Tonic with Native Finger Lime comes from our favourite Australian distillers – Cape Byron. And there is quite a lot of tech to producing it with 50% less sugar than most other Gin premixes.
Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin & Tonic with Native Finger Lime starts with Brookie’s Bryon Dry Gin (here $75/700ml) distilled using 25 rainforest botanicals – 17 native to the NSW Northern Rivers. These include Sunrise Finger Limes, Aniseed Myrtle, Cinnamon Myrtle, Macadamia, Native River Mint, Native Raspberry & many more…
Now that may put some gin purists off – it is not traditional pot-distilled Gin with juniper berries, coriander and spiced up with citrus peel, cinnamon, almond or liquorice with neutral grain (wheat or barley) spirit.
Byron Dry Gin is fresh with a lovely cleansing ‘limeish’ top palette and a nice semi-dry gin (not heavy juniper-based as English gins). I would say it enhances mixers like tonic water, and that is where this mixer excels. Overall – refreshing and lower sugar (45 calories per 100ml) – Gordons G&T is about 90.
Review: Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin & Tonic with Native Finger Lime
- Website here
- What is it: Small batch Artisanal Gin
- Price: $27.99 for a 4-pack x 275mm bottles (inc 10c bottle deposit)
- From: Byron Distillery online and BWS
- Alcohol: 5.6% or 1.2 standard drinks per bottle
- Features: Preservative-free, gluten-free and vegan friendly
- Option: Serve with ice – you don’t need a slice of lime
- Trivia: Just over thirty years ago, it was a denuded dairy farm when Pam and Martin Brook and son Eddie (hence the name Brookie’s) started to grow macadamias and regenerating their part of the ‘Big Scrub’. Over the years, the Brooks have planted 35,000 native trees. Inadvertently they’ve grown a pantry for award-winning gin: Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin
- Awards: More Gold and Silver than you can poke a stick at, including Best Contemporary Gin
- You can read more Gadget Cape Byron Distillery articles here
Method
It all happens in George – Australia’s largest copper still.
Gin still needs heavy aromatics, so the base is still Juniper and Coriander. But they add finger lime, blood lime and macadamia for a smooth mouthfeel. Then they add hanging muslin bags with the more subtle flavours – White Aspen, Native raspberries, riberries, Native River Mint, Dorrigo Pepper, Cinnamon myrtle and native ginger… When distilled pure Mt Warning, spring water brings it back to 46% alcohol.
So how does Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin & Tonic with Native Finger Lime taste?
Refreshing with a hint of lime – not overpowering – on the inside top of the mouth. A seasoned G&T will detect the crisper taste and lower sugar – yet it uses no artificial sweeteners.
In fact, it uses Capi’s Low Sugar Tonic. Sugar and sweetener free all-natural crafted with crafted the best ingredients, quinine and a hint of yuzu (tart and fragrant halfway between a lemon and lime) for a subtle sweetness
Overall, it’s a fun drink and my new preference for a G&T premix.
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