Water of Life

Farmer’s Wife Distillery and Norlan 

There is something wholesome and unique about Australian craft distilleries, especially the ones outside the confines of the bigger cities.

An example par excellence for combining the love of country life, growing food, a proclivity for gardening, a distinct sense of place and a passion for the creation of artisanal crafted gin is Farmer’s Wife Distillery.

Inspired by the idea of mastering the creation of nuanced, sophisticated flavours to produce something unique and special, Kylie Sepros and the constituents of her team channel their alchemy based on a commitment to creating gin in exactly the manner it used to be meant to be crafted, i.e. by following the tradition of a one shot distillation by employing the services of a tested and tried copper pot still to distil their Australian sugar cane spirit, which due to the copper results in a more palatable distillate.

With the distillate as the foundation and after blending it with purified, local rainwater,  Kylie infuses the result with indigenous ingredients, which not only frame the dominant juniper flavour notes but enhance it subtlely and add an additional dimension by honouring the terroir.

Farmer’s Wife’s Autumn Dry Gin, is a telling name in that the avalanche of autumnal nuances that materialize on the palate are informed  by layers of citrussy lemon myrtle, effervescent kaffir lime and a delicately tarty grapefruity bitterness, the sum of which beautifully counterpoints the punchiness of the juniper berries. 
With the sugar bag honey reverberating and singing on the roof of the mouth, the synergy of the triumvirate that is native sage, pepper berry and cardamon pierce and round out the experience with warming, savoury and piquant tones.

Delicious.

The summery yin to the Autumn Dry Gin yang is Farmer’s Wife’s limited edition, i.e. their Spritz inspired gin. In fine alignment with the warmer months of the year, this variant is made unique by not only the infusion of Farmer’s Wife’s thirteen original botanicals known from its aforementioned core expression, but the addition of freshly pressed Sauvignon Blanc grapes, the welcome astringency of which lend a tart, acidic and slightly sweet depth to the herbal native sage, which dances intimately with the floral honey notes.

As the name Summer Spritz suggests, this little number is the ideal gin to experiment with creating the perfect summer cocktail.

Given how on point Farmer’s Wife Distillery’s emissions are on the flavour front and the attention to detail that goes into every facet of their operations down to the design of the labels and their curated merchandise, I cannot wait for their future expressions and hope that down the track Kylie will channel her alchemy in the creation of whiskies.

Norlan Glass

Some might claim that drink specific glassware is overrated, however, if you relish in the nuances of great whisky, the vessel you are sipping one matters more than you would think as size and shape play an integral role in enhancing the complexity the aromas and the respective flavour profiles they manage to bring to the center stage.

I usually rely on the trust Glencairn, which does a great job in funnelling the nose of the whisky to your nostrils and comfortably hits my hand and is easy on the eye on the aesthetic front.

However, every now and then there are whisky glasses that do not merely look fancy and cutting-edge, but indicate that quite a bit of thought has gone into the design.

The Norlan whisky glass might look futuristic and a bit of a novelty to some and the fact that it is much lighter than a quaint crystal tumbler due to the fact that it is made from borosilicate glass might act as a deterrent, but there is more than meets the eye: Essentially, the Norlan glass merges two glasses – an outer tumbler shielding the whisky from warming up and encasing an expertly shaped nosing glass. A welcome side effect of the intricate design is that it accentuates the colour of the whisky. After all, the visual aspect matters.

An advantage of the Norlan glass is the fact it enables sipping from an angle that allows to maintain eye contact as one does not have to tilt back as much, paired with the protrusions in the glass enhancing the evaporation of ethanol, which adds depth to the respective whisky’s aroma and flavour profiles by dissipating the alcoholic burn.

I like the fact that all of Norlan’s glasses are individually different due to them being hand-blown and regularly use them with heavy hitters from Islay, e.g. the new Octomore 12.1, which sang beautifully on the stage that Norlan provided.

Talking of Islay – needless to say, I was intrigued when I learned about Norlan delving into the creation of fragrances and olfactive holograms in a bid to replicate the aromas of the Scotland’s core whisky regions – especially as the last twelve months have seen me acquiring a diffuser along with the development of a weak spot for essential oils.

The underlying concept of Norlan’s Vam Terrain Fragrance series is to transport one both emotionally as well as physiologically on a journey by tapping into the root of one’s memories, Cue Arnie, Total Recall-style.

Based on perfumer Mark Buxton and creative director Sruli Recht’s first-hand experiences in Scotland, they crafted three distinctive scents, of which I tested the Islay variant.

As expected based on my previous experiences with Norland and their quality products, once the diffuser is filled, a melange of saltiness, smoky peatiness and heather fills the room in the most delicate yet dangerous manner, as one feels instantaneously urged to pour a dram to complete and round out the experience in the flavour department.

A fascinating and fun addition to the Norlan portfolio, which I can only hope will continue to grow with its mission to develop innovative products for whisky lovers.