SG23 Shiraz Gin

What is shiraz gin?

Shiraz gin is a gin that has been infused or re-distilled with shiraz grapes so the finished spirit carries the colour, red fruit and tannin of the wine variety alongside the juniper. It sits somewhere between a dry gin and a fortified red — deeper and more savoury than a pink gin, and far drier than a berry liqueur.

It is a distinctly Australian style, and it makes particular sense here. The Clare Valley has been growing shiraz for more than 170 years, so working the fruit into a gin is less a novelty than an honest reflection of where we distil.

How we make SG23

Everything starts with the base spirit. We ferment and distil leftover wine grapes from Jeanneret Wines, two minutes down the road in Sevenhill, rather than buying in neutral grain alcohol. That grape base is rounder and more aromatic, which matters when you are asking a spirit to carry red fruit.

The gin is then distilled with our Signature botanical basket — juniper, lemon myrtle, strawberry gum, pepperberry and the rest — before Clare Valley shiraz grapes from the 2023 vintage are worked through the finished spirit. The fruit is steeped whole, pressed and strained. Nothing is added back as syrup or colouring, which is why the shade varies a little from batch to batch and why the tannin structure survives into the glass.

SG23 is bottled at 37.5% ALC/VOL in small batches, hand cut and hand labelled. When the 2023 fruit runs out, the release is finished until the next vintage.

What it tastes like

Pour it and the first thing you notice is the colour — a dark garnet that looks more like a young red than a gin. On the nose there is dark plum and mulberry with a wisp of black pepper and the pine of juniper behind it.

The palate is rich but not sweet. Red fruit arrives first, then dry spice and a savoury, faintly tannic edge pulls it back. The finish is velvety and long, closer to the tail of a good shiraz than to a conventional gin.

Three ways to drink it

Shiraz and tonic: 60ml SG23 over plenty of ice with a premium dry tonic and a wide orange twist. The dryness of the tonic keeps the fruit honest.

Shiraz Sour: 60ml SG23, 15ml lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup and one egg white, shaken hard, strained into a martini coupe and finished with an edible flower. This is the pour people order twice in our tasting room.

Neat: over one large cube, no garnish. Worth doing once, so you can taste what the grapes are actually doing.

Food to serve alongside

SG23 handles food better than most gins. Charcuterie, aged cheddar and anything smoked or char-grilled all work, and it holds its own against the Quattro Meats pizza and the Low & Slow Meats we serve on Sundays at Sevenhill.