Name: Single Barrel Release S30
Brand: Four Pillars
Price: 150 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock

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In July 2016, we got our hands on 45 McWilliam’s Apera barrels which had held outstanding fortified wines for around 30 years. The residual character of the barrels was incredible and we had an inkling that we could make some pretty special liquid if we aged some of our gin in them.

Of the 45 barrels we filled, six stood out as being truly complete. For some reason these barrels just aged differently. They show greater complexity and richness, but the spirit is still clean and soft. So we decided to release each barrel of gin as a single barrel gin.

Our first release was S31 last year and now it’s time for our second single barrel gin release, S30.

S30 was bottled after spending 54 months in barrel (54 months sounds so much older than four and a half years). Outside some of the older Genevers produced in the Netherlands it would be rare to find a gin that has been aged for this long.

Thanks to this ageing, the botanical oils have developed a richness that we don’t see in unaged gins. It is unmistakably gin with aromas of resiny juniper, dried fruits and nuts with some really beautiful sweet oak, but it has the complexity of a great aged dark spirit. Its deep golden colour is a great indication of the flavour to come.

We age Rare Dry Gin in Sherry and Apera casks, adding sweetness to the botanical spice.

Sherry Cask Barrel S30

location: Spain

A French oak hogshead barrel from our solera. It spent more than 30 years at McWilliam's ageing Australian Sherry.

Juniper

location: Macedonia

Without juniper, there is no gin. When distilled, it adds a medicinal flavor with notes of pine needles. Juniper is grown wild, and the berries are harvested by hand on mountain slopes.

Coriander

location: South Australia

We source coriander seeds locally for their intense aromatics. We use the dry seeds (not fresh leaves) and they produce amazing lemony citrus notes when crushed and distilled.

Green Cardamom

location: Guatemala

We use green cardamom, one of the most expensive spices in the world. The flavour is intense, giving sweet perfumed notes and ginger characteristics when distilled.

Cassia

location: Sri Lanka

This spice is made from the bark of East Asian trees related to the ‘true cinnamon’ of Sri Lanka. Cassia adds a distinct richness to our gin, bringing all the other spices together.

Star anise

location: Vietnam

We source ours from Vietnam and the aromatics are insane. When we open a small package of star anise the entire distillery fills with aromas of fresh liquorice, sarsaparilla and pastis.

Lavender

location: Yarra Valley

Lavender is used sparingly to lift the other aromatics, so it isn’t an obvious character in the final gin. Grown locally, though occasionally we have to source from France.

Angelica

location: Netherlands

We use the root of the plant, which has a very earthy, mushroom or woody smell. Angelica adds to the soft texture of the final gin, along with a very, very subtle bitterness.

Pepperberry

location: Tasmania

We use the leaf of the Tasmanian pepperberry. This local botanical works so well with our Asian spices, adding warmth and length to the palate without adding heat.

Lemon Myrtle

location: Queensland

Lemon Myrtle is a beautiful alternative to lemon peel when distilling. Its floral character mingles with the other spices without dominating any flavours, textures or aromas.

Orange

location: Australia

In Australia we’re lucky to have oranges all year round, from different growers depending on the season. Fresh biodynamic oranges give warm Mediterranean citrus notes that lift all the spices.

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Keep your drinks simple and sippable to showcase the unique flavours of this super-limited gin.

No.1_S30 On The Rocks

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Drink it with an ice cube and allow it to unravel.

MEET WILMA

Wilma has a 450L capacity pot, a swans neck and a botanical basket (where we put our whole oranges).

Seven distinctive aroma plates in her column act to further refine the spirit which follows through to a condenser.

The gin comes out of Wilma at a breathtaking 93.5% alc/vol (187 proof) before we adjust it back to drinking strength, depending on what we’e making.

There’s a bunch of distillery-geek stuff about the levels of purity we can achieve with Wilma’s seven plate column, but when Cam starts talking about it he sounds a bit too ‘Walter White’, so we’ll just say this… the resulting gin has an incredible purity and smoothness for such a high alcohol content. It’s definitely not rocket fuel!

Learn more

MASTERCLASSES

Come learn all about the distilling process and maybe even make a bottle.

Immerse yourself in a masterclass at our Distillery in the Yarra Valley or our Laboratory in Sydney. We offer a number of classes suitable for individuals as well as groups.

Healesville Distillery Sydney Laboratory

Single Barrel Release S30

INGREDIENTS

METHOD