Still Magic

Still Magic

By Marcel ThompsonBusinessEducationLeisure
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Still Magic episodes

  • Underground Spirits, Flowstate Brewers and Distillers, & Taylor and Smith

    Episode 30 – Guardianship

    Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast your one click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin, drinking gin, steeping, and everything else in between.

    In today’s episode with my special guest Glenn McPhee – co-founder of the The Gin Boutique – we consider 3 superb products from different parts of Australia

    Underground Spirits @ 40% from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

    Flowstate Brewers and Distillers @ 40% from The Surf Coast, Victoria

    Taylor and Smith @ 46% from Hobart, Tasmania

    Their gin stories share the common themes you would expect from bold people enjoying what they love to do. 

    Here’s what in store for in today's episode

    • 00:00 – Introduction to Canberra Palooza
    • 07:28 – Underground Spirits’ background story
    • 11:43 – Flowstate Brewers and Distillers’ background story
    • 15:00 – Taylor and Smith’s background story
    • 19:43 – Gins neat
    • 31:34 – Gins with tonic
    • 43:48 – Martinis
    • 56:04 – Southsides

    Each has contrasting delivery styles that clearly express their respective makers' intent. In short, delivering “delicious" in so many ways.

    And the way they express this joy for life in these contemporary products, is proof positive that gin’s relevance and vibrancy is in good hands

    Our heartfelt thanks go to Claudia Roughley of Underground Spirits, Shaun Bridges from Flowstate Brewers and Distillers, and Natalie Taylor & Ben Smith for your contributions to this episode of What Makes a Great Gin.

    The best is yet to come so jump in, belt up and hang on.

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself.

    Let’s creative a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Host: Marcel Thompson    @stillmagicway 

    Guest contributor: Glenn McPhee        Contact the Gin Boutique

    Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot. 

    Click to book Alexie here         

    Alexie’s Website

    1 hr 10 min
  • Leigh Bridges & Shaun Bridges - Flowstate Brewers and Distillers

    Episode 29 –Legacy

    Today we visit the Surf Coast Shire region in the Australian state of Victoria.

    And it is here that I speak with Leigh Bridges and his allegedly more handsome, albeit older looking younger brother Shaun, as co-founders of Flowstate Brewers and Distillers

    Both gentlemen speak fondly of how their trade backgrounds – Leigh as an electrician, Shaun in landscaping and horticulture – have complemented their efforts to start a family business and produce a legacy that all can be proud of.

    Leigh had spent several years on the US West Coast, taking a particular interest in Craft Beer. Upon his return to Australia, armed with a new-found passion for brewed beverages and a thirst for learning, Leigh seized the opportunity to join the Little Creatures Geelong crew at their new plant. 

    An unofficial apprenticeship with a great brewery and a logical progression to distilled spirits, meant Leigh was in campaign mode: how do I convince Shaun to start a brewing and distilling business with me? You’ll get Shaun’s side of the story in the podcast.

    A key plank in their narrative , driving their success to date, can be summarised in a single word; Partnerships

    "Partnership" runs through their respective family lives, their business lives, and the collegiate links they have formed with like-minded distillers, brewers and restaurateurs in their local area.

    Flowstate is also one of several distilling operations that will deliver tours as part of a broader tourism program for the region.

    Leigh describes how Shaun’s passion for the coast, an unbridled interest in plants, and the formation of their partnership with Alchemy Distillers were key steps in making their flagship Flowstate Gin a commercial reality. 

    Their seemingly unorthodox approach to new product development has been extremely effective, evidenced by the array of delicious products they have today. 

    They have plans to release products for Christmas, and in early 2021 will commission a 300L hybrid still, emulating kit used to produce their flagship gin. Suffice to say, there are partnerships at the heart of these goals.

    The notion of a flow state is one of full immersion, energy, focus and enjoyment. By the time you finish this podcast, I’m sure you’ll agree that this term sums up Leigh and Shaun Bridges superbly.

    Sit back, relax and enjoy some great insights from 2 of Australia’s finest up and comers from Victoria

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Additional Podcast Reference Links

    Little Creatures Geelong

    Great Ocean Road Gin

    Black Sheep Facebook page

    Host: Marcel Thompson    @stillmagicway [email protected]

    Guest contributors: Leigh Bridges, Shaun Bridges

    Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot

    Click to book Alexie here         

    Alexie’s Website

    45 min
  • Molly Troupe - Freeland Spirits

    Episode 28 – Guardianship and Legacy

    Molly Troupe from Freeland Spirits takes the ‘pivoting’ notion to a whole new level. Molly was onto this idea long before it became part of the business lexicon gripping the world in 2020. 

    Molly’s story is a remarkable example of mastering ambiguity, managing the unknown, harnessing curiosity and finding a way to make things happen. Molly found herself at a cross-roads during her undergraduate studies in forensic chemistry, and did what every thoughtful student would do; think about the future and drink to that future. And it was an unassuming glass of whiskey that pique Molly’s curiosity no end.

    Within a month, Molly emigrated to Scotland to complete an MSc in Brewing and Distilling from Heriot-Watt University. Quite the leap of faith for someone whose longest journey to that point was to Reno, Nevada.

    With an uncertain post-graduation future but with a clear objective, Molly returned to Oregon and the quest began, landing a quality assurance role in a distillery. 

    Interestingly, the idea of drinking to one’s future kicked in again, after a bourbon tasting, leading to a relocation to Bend, and a 3 year tenure at Oregon Spirit Distillers.

    Molly now plays a pivotal role in the Freeland Spirits business; an opportunity of a lifetime and the key narrative in this podcast.

    Founded by CEO Jill Kuehler, the Freeland name recognises the strong, loving relationship between Jill and her meemaw forged during formative years in Texas. After an initial meeting over lunch, it became clear that Molly and Jill shared the same vision and values, and a “let’s make it happen” approach. 

    This same energy and drive has led to great partnerships with local producers and suppliers. This is turn has helped Freeland turbo-charge the release of their delicious new products – distilled beverages and canned cocktails – against the difficult trading backdrop punctuating 2020. 

    And to top things off, Freeland launched their intern program in September of this year as well. A remarkable achievement by any measure. 

    Molly’s contributions include being one of the 9 Female Distillers You Should Know, recognition by Forbes 30 under 30, a board member for the American Craft Spirits Association, co-founder of Gin 2018, published author, speaker and educator.

    Sit back, relax and enjoy my chat with one of America’s finest.

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s creative a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Podcast Reference Links

    Heriot Watt MSc. Brewing & Distilling

    Freeland Spirits                        

    Join the Freeland Spirits fanclub

    French 75 canned cocktail        

    The Digital Guide

    Chehalem Wines                      

    Zenger Farm

    Cory Carman at Carman Ranch

    The Alps of Oregon                     

    Meemaw    

    Molly’s Favourite Reference Book                        

    Pink Boots Society

    Oregon Spirit Distillers   

    Host: Marcel Thompson    @stillmagicway [email protected]

    Guest contributor: Molly Troupe

    Editor: @alexiepigot

    Click to book Alexie here         

    Alexie’s Website

    1 hr 10 min
  • Hernö Gin (LIVE)

    Episode 27 - Legacy

    Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast your one click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin, drinking gin, steeping, and everything else in between.

    The Still Magic jalopy makes its way to a village called Dala near Härnösand in Sweden.

    And it is here that will find the magic that is Hernö Gin, the progeny of Jon Hillgren’s passion, and a still named Kierstin. The gin comprises a solid London Dry backbone, a product of Jon’s first interest in gin, no fewer than 20 years earlier during heady days in London. The gin’s traditional juniper and coriander undergo maceration for no fewer than 18 hours. The botanical listing also includes cassia, black pepper, lemon peel and vanilla. Expressing a sense of place comes to the fore as well, with lingonberries, and meadowsweet – a plant that grows prolifically around the distillery – rounding out the botanical line-up. 

    The Hernö story is a remarkable one, replete with global accolades for outstanding products (IWSC’s gin and tonic gin in 2016 and 2020), as a business (IWSC Gin Producer of the Year 2016, 2017) and for receiving no fewer than 106 gold medals. The most awarded gin in Europe.

    A commitment to quality, authenticity, care, and attention. It is easy to see what makes Hernö a great gin. In every sense Hernö gin is a dream come true.

    Join myself, @antipodeanharpie and @nisholay as we put this European giant through its paces neat, and with various tonics during a LIVE tasting at the Social Isolation Party bar.

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s creative a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Host: Marcel Thompson    @stillmagicway

    Guest contributor: @antipodeanharpie @ nisholay

    Editor: @alexiepigot. 

    Click to book Alexie here         

    Alexie’s Website

    43 min
  • Stockholms Bränneri, Reid + Reid, & Wolf Lane

    Episode 26 - Guardianship

    Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast your one click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin, drinking gin, steeping, and everything else in between.

    Today’s episode takes the What Makes a Great Gin premise to a whole different level, by considering three gins from different parts of the gin firmament.

    Wolf Lane Tropical Gin @ 42.5%, from Cairns, Australia

    Reid + Reid Native Gin @ 42.0%, from Martinborough, New Zealand

    Stockholms Bränneri Handcrafted Dry Gin @ 42.0%, from Södermalm, Sweden.

    Research of this scale is very much a labour of love, and one worth sharing.

    I’m delighted to have Glen McPhee – one of the co-founders of the The Gin Boutique – as my co-contributor on today’s episode.

    Glenn gives a quick overview of his gin business journey before we launch headlong into putting these 3 magnificent gins through their paces. Each has contrasting delivery styles that clearly express their respective makers' intent. In short, “delicious" writ large in so many ways.

    Their gin stories share the common themes you would expect from bold people enjoying what they love to do. 

    And the way they express this joy for life in these contemporary products, is proof positive that gin’s relevance and vibrancy is in good hands; the best is yet to come so jump in, belt up and hang on.

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s creative a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Host: Marcel Thompson    @stillmagicway

    Guest contributor: Glenn McPhee        Contact the Gin Boutique

    Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot. 

    Click to book Alexie here         

    Alexie’s Website

    45 min
  • The Original Gordon's London Dry Gin

    Episode 25 - Legacy

    Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast your one click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin, drinking gin, steeping, and everything else in between.

    If the Big 4 of metal and the Big 4 of classical music had a kindred spirit in London Dry Gin’s Big 4, then Gordon's London Dry Gin would take up its rightful position with Greenall’s Original London Dry Gin, Beefeater London Dry Gin and Tanqueray London Dry Gin

    Such is its legacy and heritage, people still consume Gordon’s all over the world today; its distinctive packaging, colour scheme, the boar, the bottle shape – albeit altered over the years – are design elements that conspire to make it one of the world’s most recognisable gin brands.

    Developed and produced by Scotsman Alexander Gordon in 1769 at a Southwark distillery, production relocated to Clerkenwell in 1786.

    In 1898 Gordon & Co. amalgamated with Charles Tanqueray & Co. to form Tanqueray Gordon & Co. In 1987, I received the opportunity to join the Tanqueray Gordon & Co Gordon’s Gin narrative myself, appointed by another visionary Scotsman named Grainger Hannah, as an assistant distiller in Auckland, New Zealand.

    Suffice to say, I will always have a soft spot for both Gordon’s Gin and Tanqueray Gin because of this rare appointment, and a genuine interest in history.

    More than 30 years on from those heady days in New Zealand, it’s clear that our team did the right things at the right time for all the right reasons. It was great to play a modest part in a remarkable story of heritage, guardianship and legacy that endures today.

    But how will this giant of the gin world fare in one of the toughest but fairest all-round assessments there is?

    Join myself, @nisholay and @antipodeanharpie as we put the most classic London Dry Gin of them all, through its paces neat, with tonic, as a Martini, and as a Southside

    The podcast invites you to check out the Antipodean Harpie’s Gin Cocktail choice for an absolutely delicious way to serve Gordon’s London Dry Gin. A modern twist on a fantastic story, perfect for the warmer months.

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s creative a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Host: Marcel Thompson

    @stillmagicway

    Guest contributors: @nisholay, @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot, [email protected].

    https://alexiepigot.com

    21 min
  • Jamie Baxter - The Artisan Distiller

    Episode 24 – Heritage, Guardianship and Legacy

    Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast your one click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin, drinking gin, steeping, and everything else in between

    There are pivotal moments in everyone’s career where you’re presented with known options, and on occasion, something completely unexpected. Such occasions may be summed up by what former 2-time US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld once famously refer to as “unknown unknowns”

    Today's guest on the Distillers’ Voice came face to face with one such occasion in 2006

    Jamie Baxter’s craft distilling foray was the product of remarkable circumstances and a willingness to take on something new, exciting, and most likely somewhat terrifying at the same time.

    Tyrrells Chips owner Will Chase sought Jamie’s help to build a muesli factory at his Herefordshire farm location, in England’s West Midlands. Jamie procured the kit required to get things underway and then took a pre-arranged holiday with his family some 6 weeks later.

    Upon his return to Herefordshire, Jamie had learnt that building a muesli plant was now off the table and the equipment orders he’d place were no longer required. But in true leadership fashion, Will Chase had other plans; he now wanted to build a distillery to make potato vodka and asked Jamie for help. An offer one would be unwise to refuse!

    Chase Distillery

    In 2006, the minimum size for a still was 1,800 litres and notion of craft distilling in its current form was illegal at that time. Interestingly, it became clear to both Jamie and Will that an 1,800 litre still with the supporting infrastructure required was not going to cut it, so they went big, very big; how about a beautifully crafted still with a 15m column and 42 bubble plates.

    And the rest as they say, is history

    Jamie and I chat about

    · 3 other craft distilling pioneers from the “Class of 2006” and the industry impact they still have today

    · What vodka, Jamie, Will Chase and rap legend P Diddy have in common

    · The importance of provenance and how rural and urban settings present this in their narratives

    · The Distillery of London and how its story reflects the area’s unrivalled gin heritage

    ·  Gin education with BDES in the US and Brew School in the UK

    · The phenomenon that is Pink Gin, and spirit definitions in the UK

    · Jamie’s top 5 tips for success

    So grab yourself a potato vodka or a gin with balanced citrus and enjoy today’s podcast with myself and The Artisan Distiller, Jamie Baxter

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s creative a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    Host: Marcel Thompson

    @stillmagicway

    Guest contributor: Jamie Baxter

    Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot, [email protected].

    https://alexiepigot.com

    1 hr 17 min
  • Lawrenny Highlands Gin (40%)

    Episode 23

    Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

    Today my co-contributors @nisholay and @antipodeanharpdie are taking a trip to Tasmania, often referred to as Australia’s’ very own Apple Isle

    https://www.lawrenny.com/our-spirits/highlands-gin/

    The heart of Tasmania is the central highlands, a region noted for its scenery and dramatic environment.

    With over 300 lakes connected by running rivers, the region captures the purity and excitement of Tasmania. The subject of today's gin is remarkable reflecting a strong sense of place.

    Even more remarkable though, is the master distiller’s journey, resembling the title of a book written by JRR Tolkien's fictional character Bilbo Baggins entitled “There and back again”

    Joe Dinsmoor may be in his 20s, but he is already one of Australia's most experienced distillers leading the development of multiple global award-winning gins vodkas and whiskies.

    As a teenager, Joe started working at Lark Distillery, doing “all of those important things” like filling bottles and labelling them by hand. These are the jobs that distillers grow out of, and hopefully, never have to do ever again.

    Picture your 16-year-old self. How cool would it be to work in a distillery? Moreover, how super cool would it be to work at Lark Distillery as an apprentice to Bill Lark – widely regaled as Australia’s godfather of distilling

    In 2014 Joe took hold of an opportunity to leave his native Tasmania for Sydney, to take up the head distiller role at Archie Rose, and become their first employee. He went on to develop a range of distilled spirits, capturing numerous global awards. He also worked closely with bar people restauranteurs, and other distillers.

    I first met Joe in 2015 at an Australian gin week event held in Surry Hills, a hip suburb in the Sydney CBD. His energy and enthusiasm there to see. Not long after that, Joe returned to Tasmania swapping life in the Big Smoke for the idyllic rural setting that is Lawrenny Estate

    Joe’s ethos is simple.

    “Distilling is an amazing platform in which to tell a story. The product itself has the power to create more stories as it reaches people. I want the products I make, to be a reflection not only of the environment that it is made, but the people who are part of making it. It should invite feeling or an experience and make you treat it like something special, not just another liquid in a glass”.

    With a preamble like that let us take a look at the gin itself.

    The intent was to create a sense of “crisp Highlands Air”

    The secret sauce is conifer needles from the unique blue cypress

    Joe's reasoning is sound.

    “When you use too much Juniper, the gin will get too dry and kind of stick in the back of your palate”

    This is the classic juniper forward London Dry gin effect, but now put to the sword.


    By using conifer needles the gin delivers a fresh pine aroma with the classic dryness you would get from Juniper. The gin also has fresh mint, pink grapefruit, black pepper, and chamomile.

    Grapefruit orange and buchu linger over the palate. The sweet earthiness of ginger, cubeb pepper, grains of paradise, come to the fore.

    Another example where one is best to let the gin do the talking

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

    Host: Marcel Thompson @stillmagicway

    Guest contributors: @nisholay & @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot, [email protected]. https://alexiepigot.com

    19 min
  • Gavin Hughes & Karen Touchie - Stony Creek Farm

    Episode 22 - Guardianship and Legacy

    Welcome to the Still Magic podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping, and everything else in between.

    The distillers' lot is punctuated by problem solving, ingenuity and resourcefulness, with lashings of commitment for your craft thrown in for good measure.

    When Gavin Hughes and Karen Touchie spent quality time visiting Victoria’s Yarra Valley with friends from Queensland, they could not have imagined the entrepreneurial roller-coaster that was about to unfold merely days later.

    They both had full-time jobs that were taking a toll on their lives and limiting the time they could spend together.

    That all changed one fateful evening when Karen's random property search on Google, set off a chain reaction prompting a major course correction for them both; leaving what was familiar - albeit exhausting and draining - to pursue a distilling dream in Bega, on the New South Wales Sapphire Coast.

    https://www.northofeden.com.au/

    Gavin had extensive experience in the distilling industry, running a cocktail bar and working as a consultant. Karen's skills were in government policy so it's fair to say that Karen was onto the notion of "pivoting" long before it took on the mainstream use of the term that we see today.

    As you will learn from this episode of the Distillers’ Voice, the term 'pivot' barely describes the journey Gavin and Karen have experienced.

    Upon moving to their newly acquired property - Stony Creek Farm - in Bega, North of Eden, they learnt they'd bought a bed and breakfast.

    And there were chickens. And cattle. And a vast array of fresh produce to consider.

    Karen was a townie, now embracing the charms of rural New South Wales, where delegating out tedious tasks was replaced a need to master the mundane.

    This occupied their energies for the best part of a year, curtailing their efforts to build the distillery.

    Yet somewhere amongst all of that, they decided to shut down the bed and breakfast, commission their first still, release their first gin (an IWSC medallist no less) and built Australia's first gin school

    This year alone, they’ve been led a merry dance by forces as diverse as bushfires, flood and THAT pandemic gripping the world. They describe this 'merry dance' clearly and succinctly, capturing the ethos, spirit, and courage they bring to their multi-award-winning gin portfolio and the contributions they've made to the Australian Craft Gin narrative.

    They throw in their 5 tips for starting a gin business too, from perspectives that are as unique as they are compelling.

    So, sit back, relax and enjoy some cracking yarns from two of Australia's finest up and coming distillers. And while you’re there, commit The Classic, The Connoisseur and The Admiral to memory as ‘must have’ gins when you find yourself in this part of the world.

    Be Bold, Enjoy Yourself. Let's create the next gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

    Host: Marcel Thompson

    @stillmagicway

    Guest contributors: Gavin

    Hughes & Karen Touchie

    https://www.northofeden.com.au/, @stonycreekfarmdistillery

    Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot, [email protected]. https://alexiepigot.com

    49 min
  • Roku Select Edition

    Episode 21 - Heritage | Guardianship | Legacy

    Welcome to the Still Magic podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping, and everything else in between.

    Here is a random question for the Still Magic podcast.

    What is the perfect number between 1 and 10?

    If you said the number 6, you would be correct

    It’s a number that appears in areas as diverse as sport, nature and cult TV

    For example,

    • A standard guitar has six strings
    • An over in most forms of outdoor cricket comprises a set of 6 legal deliveries
    • The minimum number of games required to win a set in tennis is 6
    • A musical octave has 6 whole tones
    • Players change ends during a tennis tie-breaker after they complete 6 points
    • There are 6 players per team on the rink in an ice hockey match
    • A touchdown in the National Football League is worth 6 points
    • There are 6 colours in the RGB colour wheel (3 primary, 3 secondary)
    • A goal in the Australian Football League is worth 6 points
    • Dice have 6 faces, with 6 as the highest value
    • The honeycomb structure used by bees has cross-section with 6 sides
    • Insects have 6 legs

    And in the cult TV program, The Prisoner, the main character – played by Patrick McGoohan – was stripped of his name, and merely referred to as… Number 6

    And today the perfect number 6 makes a truly spectacular appearance.

    We need to visit the Land of the Rising Sun. Here, where we’ll find ourselves in Osaka, at the headquarters of a company comprising the merger of two iconic whiskey makers; Jim Beam and Suntory

    Suntory has a long gin history releasing Hermes in 1936; their first gin product

    The kaizen tradition of continuous improvement has punctuated their efforts during the intervening years.

    The Suntory team developed a simple concept; to create a Japanese craft gin that would be welcome to consumers worldwide.

    The unique product point captures the essence of the Four Seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter.

    The word shun is a simple concept that refers to Peak Seasonality

    Shun commands high value, driving the need for selecting and harvesting botanicals that are at their best for the peak season.

    Sakura begin to bloom in late January, with the cherry blossom front moving north through each of the islands until April. This ornamental cherry is the spirit of Japan.

    The delicate blossoms represent renewal and the brilliant nature of life.

    The foundation botanicals are as follows; illustrating a classic example of the 3Bs described in my book Still Magic A Gin Distillers Guide for Beginners; the base is familiar yet nuanced

    • juniper,
    • coriander seed,
    • angelica root & angelica seed,
    • cardamom,
    • cinnamon,
    • bitter orange peel
    • lemon peel

    The Suntory team chose six botanicals, each of which is harvested in each of the four seasons; this is the shin concept writ large

    • Sakura flowers,
    • Sakura leaf,
    • Sencha tea,
    • Gyokuro tea,
    • Sansho pepper, and Yuzu, the quintessentially Japanese citrus fruit

    To quote Koji Hirashama, the Global Strategy Brand Manager, for Suntory Spirits

    “The fact that it's well balanced, I think that's a great gift from nature… “

    With a strong base in play and a remarkable collection of botanicals, Roku demonstrates a wonderful union of east and west; a truly great gin

    Today, is the perfect day for the Number 6. 

    Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative.

    Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

    https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

    Host: Marcel Thompson @stillmagicway

    Guest contributors: @nisholay, @antipodeanharpie

    Editor: @alexiepigot,

    alexiepigot.com

    22 min

About Still Magic

From the publisher's feed

Hosted by award winning gin distiller and educator Marcel Thompson, the Still Magic podcast provides insights concerning gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking gin steeping and everything else in between.