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Botanicals
Drinking
Story
Botanicals
Drinking

Melbourne Laneway Gin

Say hello to your new favourite barista, Melbourne Laneway Gin. Our latest limited edition and the first bottle in our new City Series. Melbourne Laneway is a tribute to the city that taught us good coffee (and good gin) should never be rushed.

With a smooth creaminess, this gin is the evening's answer to a flat white. It balances beans from our mates at Proud Mary Coffee alongside vanilla beans, clarified butter, roasted wattle seed and cacao nibs. With aromas of espresso, jaffa cakes and marmalade-filled croissants, Melbourne Laneway is made for coffee-laced Negronis, orange-garnished G&Ts or in a gin-forward riff on that viral Mont Blanc coffee.

$82 AUD
$82
700mL
Qty:

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There’s something about that first morning coffee…the easy ritual, an optimism on the horizon, the whole day ahead. And we’re all partial to a cup of joe at Four Pillars; it's even been called ‘the gin of the morning’ by a select few. So, we got to thinking, what if we made the flat white of the evening?

After all, not only was the humble flat white pioneered in Australia, it’s also our Head Distiller Sarah's brew of choice. And who doesn't love a good coffee?!

Made with nightcaps and boozy pick-me-ups in mind, our distilling team got to work on infusing the essence of the morning (AKA coffee) into a bottle. Clearly, coffee was key, so our pals over at Proud Mary Roastery in Fitzroy lent us some beans. Next, a smooth, creamy mouthfeel…St. David Butter was right around the corner. Once we got started, our coffee gin turned out to be a bit of an ode to our home city.

Like every good morning, this gin starts with coffee. Rather than go with tropical cold brew notes, Sarah stayed true to her daily coffee order when selecting the beans from the experts at Proud Mary's. Their Humbler Roast delivers rich caramel and chocolate notes, perfect for milk-forward coffees and, as it turns out, gin too. So, rich creamy coffee-based sorted, it was time to get making.

First, our botanicals, including roasted coffee beans, native wattle seed, and green cardamom are added to our two original stills, Wilma and Jude. Tahitian vanilla pods are split by hand, infusing the gin with delicious velvety richness. Then comes one of our favourite tricks. Green coffee beans from the same Humbler blend act as a natural fixative, helping capture and hold onto the aromatic oils from the botanicals throughout distillation. The result? A creamy, coffee-inspired gin, with a smooth mouthfeel and lots of help from our Melbournian home. It just made sense to finish off our ginny celebration of great coffee and Melbourne craftsmanship, with a label from local artist, URSHTRAY.

Melbourne Laneway is a layered, complex gin, with aromas of dark chocolate, rich espresso and jaffa cakes. Roasted cacao nibs and wattleseed bring depth, while fresh orange brightens the palate. Tonka beans and vanilla create a smooth, velvety mouthfeel, finishing with rich caramel and lingering roasted coffee notes. 

It’s like the first sip of a smooth espresso, rounded out with roasted vanilla notes and a touch of fresh citrus. Warming, nostalgic and extremely delicious.

Two types of coffee beans, roasted wattleseed, tonka beans and vanilla pods create a rich complexity, with notes of espresso and jaffa cake on the nose. Cultured butter and vanilla beans bring a creamy smoothness, while fresh oranges keep things balanced.

Proud Mary's Humbler coffee beans
location: Fitzroy, Melbourne

From our mates in Proud Mary's, these coffee beans come from the Humbler Blend and are roasted in Fitzroy. Made for smooth, complex milk-based coffees (and now, gin!), they bring in deep chocolate and coffee aromas.

Proud Mary's green coffee beans
location: Fitzroy, Melbourne

These beans come from Proud Mary's Coffee Roasters in Fitzroy. Part of the same Humbler blend as the roasted beans, they act as a fixative, helping trap the essential oils in the alcohol. Traditionally, Frangelica or Oris Root is used.

Cacao Nibs
location: Dominican republic

Cacao nibs are made from gently crushed whole cocoa beans. They hold the same incredible depth of flavour as the beans, enhanced by roasting. Full of earthy aromas and a deep chocolate flavour.

St. David's clarified butter
location: Fitzroy, Melbourne

Clarified in the Distillery, this butter adds caramel, butter biscuits notes. It's warm and rich giving an incredibly silky textural element to the palate.

Tonka Beans
location: South America

Tonka beans are seeds native to South America and bring a rich, complex mix of vanilla, almond, and hazelnut, with warm notes of spice like cinnamon and clove.

Whole vanilla pods
location: Tahiti

Sweet, creamy vanilla, white floral notes, with hints of tropical fruit. Vanilla gives a rich sweet, lifted characteristic to the gin.

Juniper
location: Macedonia

Without juniper, there is no gin. When distilled, it adds a medicinal flavour with notes of pine needles. Juniper is grown wild, and the berries are harvested by hand on mountain slopes.

Wattleseed
location: Australia

An Australian native that we love to use. These seeds are roasted just like coffee beans, unlocking warm flavours like rich caramel, coffee and nutty chocolate. It adds weight to the mouthfeel creating a lot of texture.

Black cardamom
location: India

An incredibly concentrated botanical dried over fire pits. The seeds are like menthol, so we use this sparingly and mainly for the massively smoky, savoury characters.

Coriander
location: South Australia

We source coriander seeds locally for their intense aromatics. We use the dry seeds (not fresh leaves) and they produce amazing lemony citrus notes when crushed and distilled.

Orange
location: Australia

In Australia we’re lucky to have oranges all year round, from different growers depending on the season. Fresh biodynamic oranges give warm Mediterranean citrus notes that lift all the spices.

Cassia
location: Sri Lanka

This spice is made from the bark of East Asian trees related to the ‘true cinnamon’ of Sri Lanka. Cassia adds a distinct richness to our gin, bringing all the other spices together.

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Perfect in a coffee-forward Espresso Martini, but equally decadent in simplicity, with a splash of soda and a juicy wedge of orange. Feeling adventurous? We’ve got a cocktail riff on Mont Blanc coffee!

No.1_Mont Blanc Cocktail
No.1_Mont Blanc Cocktail
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A cloud of delicate whipped cream balances the complex, aromatic gin in this cocktail riff on the viral Mont Blanc coffee. 

No.2_Coffee Negroni
No.2_Coffee Negroni
View

One of our favourite gin aperitivos gets a coffee-infused twist. A richer take, it's perfect served in the golden hours of the afternoon.

No.3_Laneway Espresso Martini
No.3_Laneway Espresso Martini
View

Of course, we had to do a Martini! And this coffee-infused gin is just the thing for a smooth, rich Espresso Martini. It's the coffee of cocktail hour!

No.4_Melbourne Laneway Gin & Tonic
No.4_Melbourne Laneway Gin & Tonic
View

A deep, complex gin and tonic that is anything but ordinary. 

No.1_Mont Blanc Cocktail
No.1_Mont Blanc Cocktail

A cloud of delicate whipped cream balances the complex, aromatic gin in this cocktail riff on the viral Mont Blanc coffee. 

  • INGREDIENTS
  • 30mL Melbourne Laneway Gin
  • 120mL hot brewed coffee (chilled)
  • 45mL heavy cream
  • 10mL vanilla syrup
  • METHOD
  • Combine Melbourne Laneway Gin and coffee in a highball glass
  • Whip cream and vanilla together in a separate container until soft peaks form
  • Pour over the mix in highball glass, creating a layer on top
  • Garnish with finely zested orange and nutmeg.

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No.2_Coffee Negroni
No.2_Coffee Negroni

One of our favourite gin aperitivos gets a coffee-infused twist. A richer take, it's perfect served in the golden hours of the afternoon.

  • INGREDIENTS
  • 30mL Melbourne Laneway Gin
  • 20mL sweet vermouth​
  • 20mL bitter orange liqueur (we like campari)
  • 10mL coffee liqueur
  • METHOD
  • Combine ingredients in a tin and stir
  • Strain into a rocks glass
  • Top with ice and garnish with a juicy slice of orange.

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No.3_Laneway Espresso Martini
No.3_Laneway Espresso Martini

Of course, we had to do a Martini! And this coffee-infused gin is just the thing for a smooth, rich Espresso Martini. It's the coffee of cocktail hour!

  • INGREDIENTS
  • 40mL Melbourne Laneway Gin
  • 20mL Broken Bean Coffee Liqueur
  • 10mL Crawley's Vanilla Syrup
  • 30mL espresso coffee
  • METHOD
  • Combine Melbourne Laneway Gin and other ingredients in a tin and shake with ice.
  • Strain into a coupe glass ​
  • Garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder if you're feeling fancy

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No.4_Melbourne Laneway Gin & Tonic
No.4_Melbourne Laneway Gin & Tonic

A deep, complex gin and tonic that is anything but ordinary. 

  • INGREDIENTS
  • 45mL Melbourne Laneway Gin
  • 100mL tonic (we like Fever Tree)
  • Orange
  • METHOD
  • Build in a rocks glass.
  • Top with ice
  • Garnish with a juicy orange wedge

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