Type Gin | Producer Four Pillars | Region Australia > Victoria > Yarra Valley | ABV 41.8% | Volume 700 ml | Price (AUD) ~$85
House notes
Four Pillars Rare Dry is the gin that dragged contemporary Australian botanicals into every bottle shop in the country, and it earned every centimetre of shelf space. You get pepperberry, lemon myrtle, and Tasmanian pepper tree, and it tastes like a Yarra Valley afternoon where someone has started talking about terroir three beers in. Juniper is present but not bossy. The citrus is fresh orange rather than lemon zest, which is why it matches tonic better than most. Neat, it’s a bit hot but floral and long. Over ice with a big glass and fat tonic it becomes the house G&T of about a third of Australian restaurants, and that is not an accident.
What it pairs with
Made for a G&T in a balloon glass with ice, a pink grapefruit wedge and Fever-Tree Indian tonic. Also works as the cocktail-hour gin at any Australian dinner where the host wants to show off without showing off. Pairs well with charred prawns, sashimi, a good burrata with finger lime, or anything with citrus and black pepper. Stays clear in a gin Spritz. Less exciting in a Negroni than Plymouth because it brings its own party and the vermouth gets lost. Best used as the featured gin, not the background gin.
About the producer
Four Pillars launched in 2013 out of Healesville in the Yarra Valley, co-founded by Stuart Gregor, Matt Jones and Cameron Mackenzie. Rare Dry was their first release and still outsells every other bottle they make.
Recipes and cocktails this pairs with
Every post on Food & Drinks that recommends this bottle.
