Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin

So far I’ve loved everything I’ve tasted from Four Pillars, which is admittedly not a lot but every spirit has been superb – and often bold and creative. So, what to expect from something called Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin, at 43.8% ABV?

I do know that Australian Christmases, at the height of their summer, are very different from Christmases in the UK and parts of the USA (though Christmas in Arizona, where I live, can be sunny and enjoyable. Just not as sunny as Australia.)

This gin is an intriguing colour, a tawny shade like a subtle Scotch or a sherry. Before I tasted it I wanted to learn more about it so I checked the Four Pillars website. The description of the process had my mouth watering and I couldn’t do better than simply to repeat it here.

To make this gin Cam first distills some Christmas puddings (made to his mother Wilma’s 1968 recipe) with juniper, cinnamon, star anise, coriander and angelica over the top. Cam also ages gin in a couple of 125-year-old ex-William Grant scotch whisky barrels that had previously stored Rutherglen Muscat for 80 years. He then blends this with the Christmas Pudding gin, and to finish he adds a slight tweak of Rutherglen Classic Muscat to round out the palate. Cam also adds a touch of our own muscat that has been sitting in barrels which previously aged Pedro Ximenez. So we get even more depth, richness and complexity.

Blimey. How you distill a Christmas pudding I have no idea.

My wife sniffed the gin and said: candy, orange, spices. Which I guess is close to parts of a Christmas pudding recipe. Also juniper, of course, but very far back in the mix. I also got something light and floral, like lavender, and toffee too – that Christmas pudding theme again. It’s quiet fiery on the palate, partly thanks to that 43.8% ABV. It actually tastes stronger, more like a Navy Strength Gin, but I’m not complaining. The taste as well is definitely Christmas – spices, caramel, orange – and alcohol! Isn’t that Christmassy too? And it definitely gives a warm feeling as it goes down, another Christmas connection.

It’s an exciting time for spirits, and people like Four Pillars are pushing the envelope with their creative thinking and experiments. I mean, let’s distill my mum’s Christmas pudding? What?? And yet the result is magnificent.

Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin cocktail recipe — Gin Cobbler Cocktail Recipe

The gin is only made once a year and quickly sells out, even at A$100 a bottle (last year’s price). I’m not surprised. I’d recommend subscribing to their mailing list here so you’ll get news of new releases and when the next release of Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin is available.

Oh, and there’s a different art work on the label each year. The one I sampled for 2018 was ‘Basking in the Sun’ by the Melbourne artist Stephen Baker. And jolly good it is, too.

Detail from the 2018 Label of a bottle of Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin — Basking in the Sun

More Information

Check the page for Australian Christmas Gin on the Four Pillars website.

This tasting sample was supplied by LoveDrinks, a London-based premium import, distribution and marketing company representing quality spirits, liqueurs and craft beers. You can buy several Four Pillars gins, including their Christmas Gin, from Master of Malt. In the USA, Caskers stocks several of the Four Pillars gin range.

Here are my other reviews of Four Pillars Gin, Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin, and the stunning Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin.