Moonshiner Simmons Street Aussie Native Gin

Nose: Assertive and powerful, with juniper, coriander, anise, licorice, lemon, and pepper all prominently featured. It's a robust, vividly clear aroma with a neon-like intensity that leaps from the glass. Taste & Feel: Pronounced juniper, anise, native pepper, and finger-lime. The palate is well-rounded yet possesses significant flavor intensity. There's a savory, almost umami character and a notable spicy warmth from cinnamon, indigenous citrus botanicals, anise, and fennel seed. The texture is somewhat smooth. Catching up on my review backlog with a few quick assessments. Moonshiner is a small-batch distillery in suburban Sydney that a companion and I visited in March 2023. We sampled a flight of four gins, served both neat and with suggested garnishes and mixers. This gin was presented with an optional cinnamon stick and Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic. This was our preferred gin of the day. Its potency made it immediately distinct from everything else we tried, but its profile was still close enough to a traditional gin that we could envision using it in various drinks. It's so strong in both aroma and flavor that it could easily be a chaotic jumble of elements, but the strength of the juniper component makes it cohesive by providing a solid foundation for everything else. We purchased a bottle that day and have nearly finished it. My companion is a big admirer, but over time the initial excitement has faded for me. Essentially, this is a bit of a showpiece – a really good one, to be sure, but the more I've tasted it alongside my favorite classic gins, the more it seems overly showy. Nevertheless, it's an excellent gin and arguably the top product currently produced by Moonshiner Distillery. "Good": 84/100 (3.75 stars)