Presenting a series of Sunday's showcasing the stories from Wine, Beer & Spirits of the Fleurieu.

These are reproduced with permission from Soul Publishing and Rojina Duval.

These stories feature prominent farmers, fishermen, producers and chefs – from Port Noarlunga to Cape Jervis – along with their favourite recipes and tips. Enjoy!

While sailing on the high seas, Rowland Short, mariner and life-long adventurer, fell in love with the expressive nature and versatility of the age-old spirit of gin.

This passion was closely aligned with another of his many interests – his fascination with the influence and art of using botanicals in tandem with the beverage.

“My wife Shelley and I settled in McLaren Vale 13 years ago and initially established Maximus Wines,” says Rowland, now co-owner of Settlers Spirits.

“Four years ago, we decided to explore the exciting world of gin – getting on board with the gin renaissance happening overseas. We were the second distillery in South Australia, and have since crafted twelve gins, a spiced white rum, a vodka and goji berries, a threeand-a-half-year-old whisky, and some liqueurs.

“We initially started with gin because we both love it. It’s what we drank when we were cruising in the South Pacific on our yacht some 25 years ago,” says Rowland.

“Our spirits are made using grape spirit and are 100% handmade on-site in small batches, from the grape distillation right through to bottling and packaging.” 

The grape spirit base is made by distilling McLaren Vale wine with steam-vapour distilled botanicals, which creates a gin that has a lovely, soft mouthfeel and bright, clean aromatics.

"As a winemaker, I could be creative once a year during vintage, but with craft spirits, I get to be creative all the time,” says Rowland. “Hence twelve gins in the four years we’ve been around, with still plenty more to come!"

Settlers Spirits has just taken out the Australian Distillers Association Top Gold Medal and Trophy for its Old Tom Gin.

PAIRING

“Our gins pair very well with tonic. We encourage people to explore and experiment with garnishes to complement our gins. We use various herbs, dehydrated fruits, fresh fruits and edible flowers – the sky is the limit really!

“We have just published a small booklet, available at our distillery door, suggesting beautiful cocktails to make with our different gin varieties.” 

CELLAR DOOR

“Our distillery door is located on the property, and we offer tastings and sales, master-classes in gin making, and simply the opportunity to enjoy the ambience with a group of friends. The bar shows a map of the globe, providing an enjoyable spot to drop anchor for an afternoon, order from the extensive gin and cocktail menu and immerse yourself in the world of gin! We have also just built an all-weather patio area leading down to our lawn, serviced by our Gin & Tonic Caravan. It has lovely views of McLaren Vale and seats 24 people.”

ADDRESS 197 Foggo Road, McLaren Vale

WEBSITE

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