What is Gin Made From?

smiling woman at a bar

What is gin made from?

smiling woman at a bar
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Australia’s Best Gin Distillery Reveals it’s Point of Difference 

Today I am going to delve into what gin is made from but first a moment of appreciation for our majestic Distillery. 

I walked into Fossey’s on Friday night and let out a sigh of happiness. I felt like I was returning home! And it was so wonderful to see our regulars again and a lot of new faces too.

Fossey’s Distillery in Mildura

If you have ever been to Fossey’s, I reckon you will know what I mean when I say it’s such a heart-warming place. The staff are Fossey’s style friendly. They always have smiles on their faces when welcoming anyone into our little Gin Joint.

I love the way we can curl up in front of the fire in comfy armchairs, catching up with friends over some Fossey-licious creations. Cheeseboards are a particular favourite of mine! They are good value too at $20 each. They include sweet & savoury treats most people will enjoy.

Another thing, I love about the Fossey’s intimate setting is it means we don’t have to raise our voices when chatting. This may seem like a small thing but when I want to catch up with friend’s who I have not seen for a while, this is a blessing.

Anyway, as a newbie to the gin world, I have been on a little bit of journey into everything gin! I have found it fascinating to learn the process of how it is made & what sorts of ingredients are in it.

I credit both Steve (head distiller pictured above) & Tash (distiller) for being an gin-credible source of knowledge when explaining how Fossey’s makes our tantalising elixirs. 

Gin Facts: 

  1. Gin is derived from any neutral base spirit – (Fossey’s make it from locally grown grapes. Not seeds.)
  2. Juniper Berries are the key ingredient of Gin.
  3. A number of additional botanicals can be added to flavour the gin.
  4. Gin has a minimum final strength of 37.5% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).
  5. No artificial ingredients are allowed to be added to gin.

What is the Difference Between Gin & Vodka?

Gin is any white or neutral based spirit such as vodka. However, to classify it as gin, botanicals are added and one of them must be juniper berries. 

What are Botanicals then?

Botanicals are an array of various natural flavourings which are plant based. Fossey’s uses a very unique & diverse range which are usually native to the Mildura area where our Distillery is located.

Fossey’s 9 dried botanicals:

  1. Juniper Berries (what defines gin & formally known as genever)
  2. Coriander Seeds
  3. Green cardamom pods
  4. Cassia bark (Australian cinnamon)
  5. Anise Myrtle (Australian native – aniseed flavour)
  6. Lemon Myrtle Leaf
  7. Mountain Pepperberry Leaf (Australian native)
  8. Edible Lavender (Bella Lavender in Berri)
  9. Organic Angelica root
gin botanicals corriander seed, juniper berry, cassia bark, cardamom pods, anise myrtle, lemon myrtle leaf, mountain pepperberry leaf, Edible lavender, Organic Angelica root
Botanicals used in Fossey’s gin

In the UK & most of Europe, citrus peel used in gin is dried. But at Fossey’s we embrace fresh citrus from the local area & it is added to our gin exactly that way.

Citrus used in Fossey’s Gin are:

  1. Lemon
  2. Orange
  3. Bergamot
  4. Tangelo

This really sets Fossey’s gin apart from most others & is something the Distillers are particularly proud of.

Why is the gin ABV minimum 37.5%?

Anything with ABV below 37.5% will not preserve the botanicals & this is considered to be essential for making quality gin.

Well there you go! The lowdown on gin. I must admit I swell a little with pride knowing Fossey’s use mostly locally sourced botanicals & fresh citrus in our creations.

Fossey’s truly is a unique Australian gin handcrafted from the heart. If it’s been awhile since you have sat down for one of our tipples, it’s high time you had a reminder of why it’s the best Australian gin. Order online today & make sure you are organised for the weekend. 

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

Narelle

More to explore

Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW

What to do this weekend?

What's on this weekend?

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What is there to do this weekend?

Like most people, I am excited about catching up with friends & family this weekend now Covid-19 restrictions have been eased. Spending time with my peeps is one of my favourite things to do. Usually when I catch up with my loved ones, we go to Fossey’s Distillery where it’s nice and quiet but friendly & welcoming, at the same time. The ambience is great! The music not too loud you can’t hear one another talking. It’s the perfect place to sit down & solve the problems of the world together. Well at least have a long-winded discussion about it, trying.

My sister and I both have a child free weekend coming up. The first together since Covid-19 put us into lockdown and usually we would catch up at Fossey’s for a few hours on a Friday night having some prawns for dinner, sharing a cheese platter and laughing, over a few gins…well alright…maybe 5 or 7, but who’s counting, right? I really miss being able to walk in there, feeling like I am at home (except I don’t have to make my own drinks or clean up) and sitting in the beautiful surrounds of the gin garden or inside curled up on one of the comfy couches.

But this weekend coming we can’t go out. Nothing’s open to dress up & go out to. No going out for dinner or anything like that. We have a free weekend but for the first time in what feels like forever, we can’t do any of the things we normally do. So, what is there to do when catching up with friends & family this weekend then?

Well, we decided to bring Fossey’s to our lounge room.  Oh yes, we are aware it won’t be the same without Nathan or Tash making their gin-mazing creations for us with the gin-credibe garnishes and love they put into them and our lounge room resembles nothing of the gorgeous Fossey’s Distillery, but for now it will have to do.

My sister’s favourite gin is Old Man Saltbush with soda water (she’s calorie conscious) and mine generally is Broken Heel (pink gin) with light Fever Tree Tonic Water (I am calorie conscious too, but much prefer G&T over gin & soda water). I also love the colour the elixir goes when mixed with the Fever Tree. So, we decided on Saturday night we will do our best to re-create a night at the Distillery by grabbing a bottle of our Fossey’s fav’s, make sure the heater is on, put on some chilled music, knock back a few (or 10) tipples together whilst having a lot of laughs at the same time.

We know it won’t be the same but, hey, it’s the best we can do right now! Having lockdown restrictions lifted in Victoria means that can spend that precious time together even if it does look different to what we would normally do and that is definitely something to be celebrated.

Given it is World Whisky Day on Saturday, maybe your preference for drinks will be the best whisky in Australia and of course, I mean Fossey’s. I am usually not much of a whisky drinker but am looking forward to having a Fossey’s whisky on the rocks because I can see the appeal in it being warming, soothing & something nice to share in front of a fireplace, sitting together, catching up on anything and everything.  Plus being the outgoing soul I am & blogger for Fossey’s I can’t let World Whisky Day pass without giving it a shot!

Wherever you are, have a fabulous weekend & if you are in Victoria, I am sure it will be a wonderful time of re-connecting with family & friends, with lots of hugs & laughter.

On a personal note, I know I won’t take spending time with my loved ones for granted again, after knowing what it feels like to have that freedom restricted (albeit for our own good).

Until next time, friends. Chin chin & bottoms up!

Fossey’s Gin-Spired Blogger Girl

More to explore

Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW

Product in the Spotlight – Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir

Tasting paddle at Fossey's Gin
Tasting paddle at Fossey's Gin
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Product in the spotlight -
Fossey's Original gin Elixir

Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir

As the Fossey’s chief Ginspired Blogger Girl, I thought it may be time I told you a little bit about me &  the very ginsational Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir!

You may have read in a previous blog that I had been a vodka & soda girl for quite some time after deciding that beer wasn’t exactly most people’s idea of classy and although wine definitely was an improvement, it also wasn’t so great for my waistline either. So vodka and soda became my drink of choice for any sort of socialising or Friday night unwinding. 

I joined the Fossy’s team in February & part of my job was to get to know the different fabulous gin creations that are part of our collection. So I set about trying each one of them. After all, I have to believe in what I am promoting and how could I promote Fossey’s if I didn’t even know what was so special about this particular gin, right? 

I will confess it really didn’t take a lot of arm twisting for me to become a fully blown gin-vert & be singing Fossey’s praises whenever the ginnoccasion called for it…oh alright…even when it didn’t. And although, I was late to the party with understanding & appreciating the ginnovations that had taken place in the white spirits world, I am proud to say Fossey’s is now my drink of choice. 

Of course, when I started making my way through the different array of unique Fossey’s creations, I started with the Original Fossey’s Gin Elixir mixed with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic water & ice with a slice of lime & orange as a garnish. From the very first sip I knew I had found a new drink of choice & suddenly understood why there are so many ginnoseurs in the world. 

Fossey’s really is made from the heart. It’s a family owned & boutique distillery who put a gincredible amount of love & effort into everyone of their creations. They use the finest ingredients & personally I believe this is the reason I don’t suffer from a hang over the day after gindulging just a little too much the night before. 

After researching just a little bit more why Fossey’s Gin is such a high end & premium product, I gincovered that at the heart of every Gin, is a Juniper Berry & Fossey’s have scoured the world to bring you the absolute best product for their exquisite elixir. After an extensive journey, the uniquely crisp flavour of freshly foraged Juniper Berries which are the dominant flavour of our Gin Elixir, are proudly supplied to Fossey’s from around the Ludlow area in the UK, which by happenstance is where Fossey’s family originated from! (Like WOW! That actually blew my mind that the juniper berries that go into a Mildura made gin are sourced from the UK!)

Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir is truly a defined Australian Gin, replacing traditional ingredients with our glorious Australian grown Lemon Myrtle and Pepperberry, Lavender and Cassia, just to name a few. 

Fossey’s ginnovators also expertly blended a perfectly & carefully selected Mildura grown citrus bringing 130 years of dedication and tenderness growing citrus into each bottle to make something that is truly unique and special.  

Whoa! So after learning all of that, I realised that every drop of Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir was extra special & understood there is not much else on the market (if anything) that could come close to being in the same class as this extraordinary tipple! 

If you haven’t already joined our Friend of Fossey’s club which is our gin-loyalty program that gives our members, exclusive & very special offers, then I highly recommend you do so…hint hint…this fabulous drop has $10 off right now for our FOF members! 

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

PS I have got to confess having my Fossey’s G&T nightly whilst being in isolation with children has certainly made things more bearable. 

More to explore

Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW

3 WAYS TO SUPPORT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES

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3 ways to support local small businesses

What can we do to help our community and particularly local small businesses right now?

We came up with 3 ways to support local small businesses that we can ALL can do to help keep our communities from drowning in the uncertainty and fear that COVID-19 has bought.

  1. Support small businesses by buying local or if unable to go out to shop, go to their websites & buy. Supermarkets seem to be doing a roaring trade but are simply not able to keep up with the demand for so many basic items we normally take for granted. Small businesses such as butchers, bakery’s, fruit & veggie shops are stocked up. Make it part of your routine to shop at these little shops rather than always parting with your bucks at the big retailers. Not only will you find they have not run out of what you need, but their shops are not as crowded either. This is a win for all of us from a contagion perspective as well as supporting small business. Oh and needless to say, it’s unlikely you will be attacked by anyone. If you have to self isolate or quarantine, rest assured you don’t have to be without your favourite Fossey’s gin because you can shop online and have it delivered right to do your door, contactless! Perfect for mums stuck home with children who can’t go to school. Hey, it’s not called “Mummy’s Little Helper” for nothing!
  2. Like, comment on & share local businesses social media posts. Like their pages. Help your local small businesses be seen by more and more people on Facebook & Insta. SM is relatively cheap word of mouth advertising and the more people who are engaging with businesses posts the more they will be pushed into people’s news feeds. Of course, this has a flow on effect, when our local businesses are doing well, there are more jobs for local people.
  3. Think before you cancel your dinner or social plans. Do you REALLY want to spend the night home alone rather than going to your favourite restaurant, having great food, being waited on and socialising? In most cases, probably not. It really is a matter of, #staysafe TO #staysocial.

As people we need to return to our villages. As human beings we need to support one another. There has never been a time in history for any of us alive that this has been more important. Kindness, understanding and love are the things we can practice more than anything else at this time. Oh and of course, having a positive attitude, a laugh and some fun is super important too.

So there you have 3 ways to support local small businesses right now! With a few adaptions, we can continue being the social beings that we are naturally are, and of course, enjoy our gin at the same time.

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Gin-spired Blogger Girl

More to explorer

Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW

Gin Myths: Is Gin a Depressant? Does Gin help with weight loss?

gin myths

Gin Myths: Is Gin a Depressant? Does Gin help with weight loss?

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What is the real story with these old gin myths?

I first heard the rumour “Gin is a depressant” when I was about 16. I had no idea and believed the person that told me because surely they must know a lot more about alcohol than me, given they were 40 and I a mere teenager.

Since then, I have never had a ginkling and always preferred to go for a vodka soda to keep my weight down with the lower caloric alcoholic bevvy. To be truthful, I never liked vodka soda very much. It was definitely an acquired taste and one I kind of forced myself to enjoy in the name of squeezing into my jeans and enjoying a drink or ten at the same time. After awhile, I was used to it and it became the staple alcoholic drink when relaxing or socialising.

However, since starting my ginspirational career at Fossey’s, I have discovered a whole new world of flavours when it comes to the humble white spirit. Who knew gin could be so exciting or delectable? Certainly not me. I accept I may have been a little slow to catch on to the rising popularity of flavoursome gin, but now I have discovered the array of delicious flavours gin comes in at Fossey’s, I can assure you I am a convert! Vodka soda really does pale in comparison, is frighteningly boring and very yawnish.

Since becoming a converted gin fan, I mentioned to a friend, I was buying a bottle of Fossey’s Desert Lime Gin for a girls night out, He quickly replied, “gin is a depressant”. I asked him how he knew that and his reply was “everyone knows that” as he shrugged knowingly, and rather annoyingly.

A little concerned my friends and I would suddenly turn into blubbering and hysterical messes after two G&T’s, picturing each of us trying to speak through sorrowful howls, whilst trying to console the other. I pondered, where did this ginformation come from? Is it actual fact? Or just some crazy wives tale?

My first step into my ginvestigation was to ask one of the fabulous Fossey’s distillers what the deal was and how gin was different to other spirits to cause it’s drinkers to wail uncontrollably into their tipple and uncovered there is NOTHING different in gin than other spirits that would induce immediate depression.

Hmm…clearly this was a case for the ginternet.

So I went digging to find where this widespread and seemingly nonsensical gin myths came from. Gincredibly, I found that there absolutely no basis for the myth that gin is any more a depressant than any other spirit. I am elated to report that it is undeniably a MYTH. The general consensus is that it is just like any alcohol being a mood enhancer – that is if you are feeling fabulously chirpy, then gin could enhance that. On the other hand, if you are feeling salty and sad, then too much gin, in a short amount of time, could possibly enhance that. Same as any other form of alcohol!

In fact, in my snooping I uncovered that a G&T does not live up to these weird gin myths, is not only gindescribably delicious and not a depressant but it is also aids WEIGHT LOSS.

Hold up…what?

Yep you read right! A Latvian study by researchers from the Sigulda University found that G&T boosts our body’s ability to burn calories for one hour after drinking it (sounds legit). Another ginteresting fact is gin is made from antioxidant-rich juniper berries which speed up your metabolism. Doesn’t that ginformation just make you want you to stock up and drink up – all in the name of good health & fitting into your jeans, of course?

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

More to explorer

Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW

Fabulous Hot Cross Bun Gin

Easter gin

Fabulous Hot Cross Bun Gin

Easter gin
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I had the absolute privilege of trying the first batch of this delicious gin and I have to tell you it is fabulous! I was sold from my very first sip.

It was served up to me with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, on ice and a garnish of orange slice. I was delighted with it’s beautiful but simple recipe blend of nutmeg, cinnamon and excited to discover the Flame Seedless Grapes are locally produced in Mildura by the Garreffa family and are steeped in our Original Gin Elixir that perfectly sums up Easter in a bottle.

I loved the citrus notes being the strong but subtle basis of this Gin and could taste the full flavour of the spices. I was pleasantly surprised at how moreish it is and couldn’t possibly stop at just one! It almost felt illegal, it was that good.

The Fossey’s family are big believers in devouring and celebrating with Hot Cross Bun’s at Easter time and this Gin aligns perfectly with this time of year.

Given there are only a limited number of this fabulous gin available for purchase and they sell out within days of being released, I highly recommend you make getting your hands on a bottle or two, a huge priority.

My hot tip is if you miss out on this one, you will be very disappointed about having to wait another year to savour the deliciousness of this truly one of a kind, gift from the heavens.

The best and easiest way to find out when Hot Cross Bun Gin is released, is by subscribing to be a Friend of Fossey’s. This will ensure you are one of our exclusive & fabulous club members and will be one of the first to know when it is released for sale. Sign up here: http://fosseysgin.com.au/loyalty/

More to explorer

Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW