Qantas wheels out a new spirits offering for winter

New Australian gins are being wheeled out and Campari will be on offer in all international cabins for the first time with Qantas unveiling a revamped spirits selection on board alongside the airline's new winter menu.

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin, distilled in Healesville, will be the new standard gin pour across Qantas international first, business and premium economy cabins.

First in-flight and lounge customers will enjoy a quarterly rotation of independent Australian gins including Applewood, Brookies, Beachtree 'Quokka' Gin and the Australian Distilling Co 'Bondi' Gin.

Campari is also landing on the menu in time for the busy European summer travel period and will be available for international customers across all cabins for the first time. The aperitif will be served in premium cabins with a new selection of roasted almonds, cashews and hazelnuts.

Whisky lovers are also set to benefit from the update with Tasmania's award-winning Lark Classic Cask making its menu debut in first class, and Melbourne-based Starward Nova being served on domestic business class.

Neil Perry, Qantas's creative director of food, beverage and service, and his team of mixologists and sommeliers tasted and reviewed nearly 400 different products in designing the new spirit offering.

Executive manager of product and service Phil Capps said the new spirits selection and winter menu celebrates Australian suppliers on the global stage.

“We began planning for our new spirits selection more than 12 months ago with the intention to offer our customers a more premium choice when they fly with us," he said. "With our flights to Rome restarting and Paris taking off soon, a new aperitif is the perfect way to start or end a European summer holiday.”

Perry also designed a new winter menu to showcase seasonal produce. The menu features plant-based options across all cabins and each route has a menu inspired by the destination.

Artisan gins offer a point of difference

Australia has an ever-increasing number of artisan distillers producing a dazzling array of styles but the public also has a wide range of imports from which to choose - many of them with interesting points of difference. 

    
If Mum is a gin lover and keen on the sustainability vibe, then she might enjoy a Silent Pool Gin, the UK’s No.1 super-premium gin, on Mother's Day. 

A recent arrival in the Australian market, Silent Pool is notable for a mix of 24-botanicals and an eye-catching glass bottle design. 

I thought it was a delightful floral and juniper- driven drop; as delicious on its own as in a G+T.

Emanating from Surrey, Silent Pool Gin has a sustainable distillery, committed to using local ingredients, recycled machinery, and renewable power sources. All waste is used to create electricity or as fertiliser.

Silent Pool is available at Dan Murphy’s or BWS for $79.99.

Another Mother's Day option is Mirabeau Dry Rosé Gin (above), inspired by the botanicals of the French Riviera. So Frenchy. So chic.

This one also has a distinctive bottle that Mum might like - and is distilled with a touch of rosé wine. 

Mirabeau has used grape spirit, made from upcycled grape skins after they have been pressed during the winemaking process, as its base. It is dry, gluten free and vegan friendly. 

I haven't tried this one yet, but will let you know when I do. Also at Dan Murphy’s and BWS for $79.99. 

Australians excel on the global stage

Regular Gourmet on the Road readers will know that I don't too much faith in wine show results, or claims that a wine, or a gin, is the "best in the world". 

That said, small producers from Australia have this week recorded noteworthy successes on the global stage. 

  
Gralyn Estate, a tiny Margaret River wine producer, was awarded the prized ‘Wine of the Year’ award at the London Wine Competition for its fortified wine, the Artizan Rare Muscat NV (above).

The wine was also named ‘Best in Show by Country’ and ‘Best Wine of the Year by Quality’ from 1,300 wines that were submitted from 36 countries including Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia.

The Gralyn Estate Artizan Rare Muscat NV has also won 11 other trophies, so it is fair to assume it is a standout. 

Fortified wines are a speciality of Gralyn Estate and The Artizan Rare Muscat NV is produced using a solera system, where younger wines are blended in barrels storing older wines and hence termed non-vintage or NV. The solera in the Artizan Rare Muscat NV dates back 40 years.

Gralyn Estate was founded in Wilyabrup in 1975 and was the first to open a commercial cellar door in Margaret River in 1978. Current owners and winemakers Scott and Annette Baxter took the helm of Gralyn Estate two years ago from Annette’s parents, founders Graham and Merilyn Hutton.

“These wines are precious as there is considerable loss each year from evaporation, what’s described as the Angel’s Share, and this gives the wine its power," says Scott Baxter.

“The vineyard is mature, low yielding and produces lovely juicy fruit, which is very perfumed when young: think Turkish delight and rose petals, and as this material matures, we start to see more intense flavours of raisin and toffee." 

Think $125 for 375mls. Visit www.gralyn.com.au for more information.

At the same show, Orange’s Ross Hill Wines was awarded the 2022 ‘Best in Show by Varietal’ trophy for the 2019 Ross Hill ‘Pinnacle Series’ Chardonnay.

Meanwhile, "sustainable" wine label Tread Softly  from the Fourth Wave Wines stable, has launched two gins presented in floral bottles (above). 

For every six bottles of gin sold, Tread Softly will plant one native Australian tree to help restore deforested Australian bushland.

Tread Softly Gin is lighter in alcohol (37%), compared to most contemporary gins. The bottles are made from 100% recycled tinted glass. 

The first releases - a dry gin and a pink gin - were entered in the London Spirits Competition and both walked away with silver medals. That's certainly a decent start. 

They retail for $59.99. See www.fourthwavewine.com.au/treadsoftlywine-home