Image credit: Jessie Cripps.
I’m sure if you’ve ever visited Mount Gambier’s famous Kilsby Sinkhole, you never imagined drinking its waters, right? Cue Sinkhole Gin, the Limestone Coast craft gin brand mixing it up.
Designed to champion the Limestone Coast region, the gin takes its main flavour profile from muntries – a tiny native cranberry – and is produced using limestone-filtered water, direct from the aquifer feeding the sinkhole.
Sinkhole gin is uniquely crafted in small batches using limestone-filtered water from the aquifer that feeds Kilsby Sinkhole, one of many natural wonders of South Australia.
The story began about a year ago when Ben got a late-night message from his friends, who were busy brainstorming away at a popular Adelaide watering hole.
“Starting a gin company has been our favourite topic of conversation for a while now but that was the night we thought about how amazing it would be to use the water from the sinkhole – the purest water in Australia – to make the gin.”
For Ben and his brother Graham, fourth generation Kilsbys and also custodians of the family’s resident sinkhole, it was the perfect pairing.
But the finer details of actually producing a gin ‘from sinkhole to glass’ was all new for the friends.
“We had to discover everything for ourselves, from legalities to bottling procedure and also find a distiller who shared our vision and was happy to work with us to produce something unique,” said Ben.
“To a gin lover, the whole experience from aroma to palette is paramount and we got very involved in the whole process. Of course, there was a lot of very professional taste tasting involved.”
The group aren’t after world gin market domination, but do have some lofty plans for the company’s future, although since launching in 2018 have delivered on several impressive varieties of Sinkhole Gin.
“We imagine people will be able to visit the sinkhole, sample both gins and watch as the products are created right in front of them. It will be an experience.”
The Kilsby Sinkhole’s waters have been limestone filtered for thousands of years as it gradually makes its way towards the coast, and is known for its clarity and mineral content.
You can currently enjoy two unique bottlings from Sinkhole Gin, including their Contemporary Australian Gin and their Sinkhole Limoncello Gin.
To learn more about Sinkhole Gin, or purchase your own bottle, click here.
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