A collaboration between Never Never Distilling Co. and the Port Adelaide Football Club has been unveiled, just in time for the AFL finals.
Aptly named Carn the Pear Gin, a new bespoke spirit is a meticulously crafted tribute to the beloved pear flavour, passionately celebrated by the Port fanbase. With a limited edition run of only 2000 bottles, this gin is poised to capture the essence of both football excitement and unique taste.
The gin uses over 250 kg of local Adelaide Hills Williams Pears that are all processed by hand at the Never Never distillery located in McLaren Vale.
Marking a year milestone since the distillery partnered with the club during their inaugural AFLW season in 2022, the gin also celebrates the brands extension into Port Adelaide’s AFL program as sponsors of the iconic game day experience, the ‘Perfect Pear’ at Adelaide Oval.
Never Never Brand Director and Co-founder Sean Baxter is excited to see the product go live after almost one year in the making.
“Carn The Pear Gin is a fun collaboration that truly champions the iconic “pear” flavour profile that the Port fanbase celebrate so passionately,” says Sean.
“The flavour that has been created by the Never Never production team is outrageous”, says Sean “This gin jumps from the glass like an Aliir Aliir spoil with a game on the line” he says.
“The signature G&T is called ‘Never Pear Us Apart’ and uses the gin paired with a quality tonic water and a slice of fresh pear,” says Sean. “It’s a great way to enjoy a Port Adelaide win six goals up!” he laughs.
From the outset there has been an incredible synergy between the local brands, both born from a work ethic that demands results of the highest order.
“Our brand was born in the west.” says Sean. “Back in 2017 we first started in 16 square metres of shed space in Royal Park, just a couple minutes down the road from the historic Alberton Oval. With a decent wind you basically could have kicked a torp into the carpark,” he says.
The Never Never Gin Marquee has been a part of Port Adelaide’s AFLW home games at Alberton Oval ever since the first bounce, with their famous ‘Never Pear Us Apart’ G&T being one of their most popular serves. It was at this moment that Never Never realised they needed to give the fans what they wanted.
“The Never Never Gin Marquee was always filled with passionate fans who loved supporting their club in whatever way they could,” says Sean. “Our G&T garnished with fresh pear was a massive hit, to the point where we really wanted to take the serve to the next level,” he says.
“After steeping 250kg of pear in spirit for two days, the whole lot was then distilled and blended with Never Never’s signature Triple Juniper Gin,” says Sean. “The use of Williams Pear adds a fantastic fragrance and perceived sweetness to the flavour profile of the gin while complementing the bright zesty notes of the spirit,” he says.
The use of the Williams Pear name adds extra significance when considering the Port Adelaide historical connection to the Williams name.
“It seemed fitting we landed on another local Williams variety to lift our Port Adelaide collaboration to uncharted heights,” says Sean.
“Fos Williams is an icon of South Australian Football, not just Port Adelaide,” says Sean, “he was an incredible player and coach, and he was an inaugural inductee into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.”
The gin will first be available for Port Adelaide Football club subscribers on the 10th of August with Never Never subscribers following soon after. Any remaining bottles will be available through the Never Never website and through the Never Never Distillery.
Any gin or Port Adelaide enthusiasts will have to move quickly – with only 2000 bottles available, it will definitely sell out.
To get your own bottle of Carn the Pear Gin, head here.
