Four Pillar’s Bloody Shiraz Gin began with a ‘crazy’ experiment in 2015, when a parcel of locally sourced Shiraz grapes was steeped in Rare Dry Gin. The 2022 rendition is now available.
After ‘appropriating’ 250 kilograms of shiraz from their landlord at the time, the Four Pillars team steeped the whole berries with high-proof Rare Dry Gin for eight weeks before releasing it in an unlabelled bottle.
All of the purple liquid sold out in a matter of days, and the drop won gold at the London IWSC in 2020, and also Gold and Best of Category in the International Flavoured Gin category at the 2022 American Distilling Institute’s International Spirits Competition.
Four Pillars co-founder and distiller, Cam Mackenzie said this year’s vintage was not without its challenges, with much of Victoria receiving rain and hail at around a third of the way through growing season.
“The weather wiped out a lot of the crop leading to some of the lowest yields on record, but after a wobbly start to the season the weather remained mild allowing for vibrant and bright fruit to mature. The low cropping created an intensity of flavour we have not seen in a long time,” said Mackenzie.
Somewhat of an Aussie riff on the traditional sloe gins of Europe, Bloody Shiraz Gin contains around 25 percent alc/vol and has no artificial colour; the sugar level is around 60-70 percent less than what is normally in a sloe gin.
The harvested grapes are de-stemmed but kept mainly as whole berries and then steeped in Rare Dry Gin in cool tanks that are stirred daily.
After eight weeks the fruit is pressed before being blended with more Rare Dry Gin to achieve an alcohol level of 37.8 percent.
Bloody Shiraz Gin is also unfiltered and unrefined, developing interesting secondary characters in the bottle as it ages. It is recommended to drink it within two years of release date.
As is tradition with Four Pillars, a designer bottle is required.
The striking piece of art on this year’s limited-edition bottle is the work of Australian photographer and artist, Luke Shadbolt.
Printed directly onto the glass, this year’s artwork depicts a sculptural waveform set against a wine-dark night time landscape, using the deep red of the gin as the backdrop to the scene.
Four Pillars has also made a point of using waste-product, this time re-purposing leftover grape skins into a chocolate bar, with the help of Melbourne chocolate connoisseurs Hunted+Gathered.
The limited stock of the Bloody Shiraz Gin fruit and nut chocolate bar will be available separately and in bundles online.
Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin is available online, at its Healesville distillery in Victoria, Four Pillars Lab in Surry Hills, Sydney, and bottle shops.
