Kalki Moon’s Solstice barrel-aged gin is set to hit the shelves this weekend after taking out gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London.
Founder and distiller Rick Prosser said Solstice was his signature, trademarked product.
“The way that it’s made is pretty unique in the barrel,” Rick said.
“It’s two six-month blends, blended together. It’s a bit complex.”
His signature technique is timed around the summer and winter solstices, a further play on the use of the word moon in the company’s title.
“On the summer solstice in December that’s when we fill the barrel with gin and we age that from the summer solstice to the winter,” he said.
“That first six months because of our heat … it pulls all of that nice oak, all the port characteristics, but it’s still got the gin flavour, that’s when its doing its hard maturation.
“We take that liquid and store it in a holding tank.”
He then refills the barrel and ages it until the summer solstice comes back around.
“Those two batches get blended together.”
The result, Rick says, is a deluxe gin that can be enjoyed the same way as a whisky.
“It’s a really nice one to sip on with ice or straight,” he said.
“It’s got the port characteristic comes through – French oak, nice soft timber, that little touch of juniper.”
Judges impressed by Solstice barrel-aged gin
The gin received a score of 95 with the judges noting its features including “a twinkle of juniper on the nose with some rich, sweet, plummy notes. Juniper and pine on the palate are joined by sappy cedar and a buttery note of hazelnut.”
While Rick had every confidence in his Solstice barrel-aged gin, taking out a gold medal at such a prestigious competition still came as a surprise.
“They don’t give out gold willy-nilly, it’s really hard to get a gold at that awards,” he said.
“It’s all blind tasting, the judges don’t know where the product is from.
“They don’t get to see any labels, its just judged off its liquid.
“It’s really nice; they’re not looking to see if it’s a big multinational company.
“We were only one of three barrel-aged gins to get gold at the competition.
“As a small producer we don’t know sometimes how good a product we have until it gets judged and evaluated.”
Kalki Moon’s classic gin took out a bronze medal at last year’s award however by the time the award was announced, he only had 20 bottles left.
So this year he decided to hold off on sales until the award winners had been named.
The Solstice barrel-aged gin will be available for purchase online or from the cellar door from 10am this Saturday 2 November.
There’s about 365 bottles available, which will set you back $199.95 per bottle.
“It’s a deluxe product, it’s really next level,” Rick said.
“It’s definitely one for the collection or for one that enjoys that finer quality product.”
The Kalki Moon Winterfeast gin also took out silver at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.
- Earlier report: Read more about how Kalki Moon started
