Colour: Passion, Valentine and lightly Rosé albeit moody with a dark hue of Lover jealously! It’s gorgeous and screams romance novel. Nose: The first aromatic point to talk about is the gin spritely, champagne/sherbet-like aroma. The nose is initially sweet yet it’s easy to push past allowing you to hone-in on the use of the barrel. The gin expresses freely the addition of the sweet wine-style top notes. Given 10 or so minutes in the glass, the underlying botanicals start to appear but none of the six botanicals are a standout, meaning each present well and do not fight for a top note position. Mouth: The palate showcases the initial sweetness of the nose but fast forwards to dessert flavours: hints of fig with dashes of caramel, vanilla and fresh cream. Sappy and sweet, subtly woody, tannic and dessert-like; the mouthfeel is beautiful. The spirit has not drawn on the timber profile too aggressively, and this is perfect as it gives room for the botanical personality to make an appearance. Back to the barrel. The use of Tempranillo is a wow factor! Taking successive sips followed by a deep breath yields dark fruit varieties and a touch of blackcurrant. Each of the flavours direct my mind towards fortified wine-styles, however the barrel does not overpower the gin. The barrel has not imparted too much woody profile to the gin and at the same time, you still nose and taste oak and a subtle tannic nature. It’s almost a savoury tasting style which happily gives way to the sweeter and richer dessert influence – a match made in heaven when linked to the colour of gin.

Joadja Distillery Barrel Aged Gin is handcrafted in the Southern Highlands of NSW in the abandoned mining town of Joadja. Using pristine water from our on-site spring each botanical is distilled separately to produce 6 infusions that are then carefully blended together and matured in ex-Tempranillo barrels sourced from La Rioja, Spain to create a truly unique Joadja Barrel Aged Gin.