Style: Gin | ABV: 40% | Size: 500 ml | Standard Drinks: 16.9 | Batch: No. 1
Staff Release: For Tash’s one year anniversary behind the bar at Granddad’s in Newcastle, she’s made her grandpa’s garden into a gin.
Grandpa Dean always had a garden. Fruit, vegetables, herbs and rhubarb at both of his houses, and everything he grew ended up in a jar. Every year the whole family picked blackberries at Lenswood, hoping there’d be enough jam to last until next time.
This is Tash’s gin. Rhubarb and blackberry jam from the garden, finger lime, lemon myrtle and pepper berry from the bush, and juniper holding it all together. Every part of this release was carefully put together, including the label, hand painted by her mum, Angelique Keil, from ingredients handpicked from memory.
One small batch, hand-crafted. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
The story
At Granddad Jack’s, staff mark their first year by working alongside the production team to create a spirit of their own, from the botanicals to the label to the way it’s served. When we asked Tash what she wanted to make, she didn’t pick a style. She picked a person.
Some of her clearest memories are from trips away with her family: her grandpa with a piece of toast with blackberry jam and cream on it, and her own beside him. Simple, but theirs. So this is a fruit-forward rhubarb and blackberry jam gin, with actual jam in the batch, and Australian natives because Dean loved what grew around him and brought the garden into everything the family did.
The label is a watercolour of his garden painted by Tash’s mum, Dean’s daughter: the fruit tree, the rhubarb patch, the blackberries, and a jar of jam sitting on the garden bench. Three generations on one bottle.
Crafted by Natasha Keil, poured for Grandpa.
What it tastes like
- Nose
- Blackberry jam first, sweet and ripe, with bright rhubarb tartness underneath and a fresh citrus lift from finger lime and lemon myrtle.
- Palate
- Jammy and fruit-forward. Stewed rhubarb and blackberry coat the palate, finger lime pearls keep it lively, and juniper holds the middle together while native pepper berry builds a gentle warmth.
- Finish
- Soft jammy sweetness drying into pepper berry warmth and a clean juniper close. The toast is up to you.
- Ingredients
- Rhubarb, Blackberries, Blackberry Jam, Finger Lime, Lemon Myrtle, Tasmanian Pepper Berry, Juniper
How to enjoy it
The Simple Pour. 30ml over ice, topped with Solo and garnished with fresh blackberries. Yes, Solo. The lemon squash cuts straight through the jam and it works far better than it has any right to. Start here.
The Garden Sour. The signature serve, shaken with sour apple and blackcurrant, lime and blackberry jam syrup, finished with a vanilla cold foam. A nod to jam and cream on toast. This one is built for you at the distillery bar and at Granddad’s in Newcastle; it’s a drink that earns its bartender.
The Garden Spritz. The one to make at home: gin, lime, sugar and apple blackcurrant, built over ice and topped with soda. Scales to a jug for four.
Every bottle comes with the recipe card. All recipes can be found here: Grandpa’s Garden Gin recipes: the Simple Pour, the Garden Sour & the Garden Spritz
Sip, Shake and Share with Grandpa’s Garden Gin.
Where to find it
Online here, at the Distillery Door (45 Lemana Lane, Miami, Gold Coast), and at Granddad’s Bar (515 Hunter Street, Newcastle), where Tash pours it herself. Join us at Granddad’s Newcastle on Tuesday, 6 October to celebrate Tash’s one year anniversary, with the Garden Sour on the bar and the first signed bottle on the shelf.
Every 500ml purchase includes the bottle (Batch No. 1, hand-crafted), 2 coasters, a recipe card, and a thank you card.
For the gardens, the blackberry picking, the jars of jam, and the memories that still feel close. This one’s for Dean.
