Of all the gin joints in all the world…
We visit the Gin School at The Republic of Fremantle to learn all about Gin and brew our very own bottle.
Gin as defined by Vinepair as a clear, distilled spirit flavoured/infused with juniper berries, flowers, and fresh and dried fruit. Its alcohol by volume ranges from 35% – 60%. Gin is made from a base spirit which is about 95% alcohol by volume – for example grape, grain, potato or sugarcane and then infused with various botanicals to give its unique flavour. This “infusing” procedure involves a second process of distillation.
The name gin is derived from “genever” (old English), “genievre” (French) and “jenever” (Dutch), all of which come from the Latin word ”juniperus,” meaning juniper.
Some Gin History:
In the late 17th century, King William III declared a Trade War against France which imposed sanctions on brandy and cognac and added tax incentives for spirit production in England. England entered the “Gin Craze” period where a pint of gin was allegedly cheaper than a pint of beer. In the 18th century, the Dutch were also producing a spirit called “genever” from a wine base with juniper berries.
English sailors carried barrels of gin in place of the beer they used to enjoy during their voyages. To ward against malaria, they made use of quinine. This was added to their tonic water – hence the famous Gin and Tonic. To combat scurvy, lime was used and evolved into a lime cordial which travelled better -thus the Gimlet originated as a gin and lime cordial cocktail.
The Republic of Fremantle is an urban distillery in Fremantle Western Australia. They use verdello grapes for their base spirit, sourced from what was formerly Houghton’s Winery (now Nikola Winery, owned by Graham Yukich) in the Swan Valley. They imported two huge custom-made stills from the renowned Müller German coppersmiths and have set up production in Fremantle.
Making Our Gin:
In the Republic of Fremantle’s two-and-a-half-hour Gin School you will experience a hands-on tutorial involving distilling in a mini pot still, a short educational history of gin distilling and a focus on their processes. 
You will walk away with your own 500ml bottle of custom-distilled gin. At the commencement of the session I had a slight trepidation that “this will be a long day!”. That was pleasantly dispelled when I glanced at my watch at the conclusion, to discover that the two and half hours had rocketed by and I had become a fan of the spirit, its history and the processes involved in producing gin!
We were invited to choose a “flavour” of gin to produce. The choice of flavours consisted of Floral, Dry, Zesty or Savoury. We were then given a list of botanicals to use in our chosen recipe, along with recommended amounts of each.
We were encouraged to adjust and craft our own unique flavour using our own mix from the botanicals listed below. For example – I chose to make a Savoury blend. My recipe guidelines suggested I choose all 3 Fragrants (double juniper), 2 Citrus, 1 Floral, 1 Spiced and 3 Herbal.
Botanical
Fragrant Juniper
Coriander
Liquorice
Citrus Lemon Peel
Orange Peel
Lemon Myrtle
Lemongrass
Lime Peel
Floral Chamomile
Lavender
Rose
Hibiscus
Jasmine
Spice All Spice
Ginger
Black Pepper
Clove
Cardamon
Star Anise
Herbal Caraway
Rosemary
Fennel
Bay Laurel
Thyme
Green Anise
Woody Cinnamon
Orris
Wormwood
I will admit that I failed to wear my glasses during the session and inadvertently added Lemon Myrtle instead of Lemon Peel (and an excessive amount of it!), however, it was an engrossing and informative day and I walked away with a bottle of my own hand-crafted gin.
Dare I add that it is quite tasty!
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Tips For Drinking Your Gin:
- Less tonic, more gin (2 parts tonic to one part gin)
- Try it neat. Swirl it around in your glass, take a small sip, put it down, then take another sip.
- Use a good tonic which is not too strong eg Fevertree Light.
- Try a gin cocktail.
- Try adding a slice/sprig of one of the following: apple, lime, cucumber, orange, rosemary, rose petal, mint.
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