When the opportunity to distill with Melbourne’s Kisumé restaurant and bar arrived on our doorstep in 2017 we were ecstatic.

On a frosty morning in June the Kisumé team joined us for a day of distilling. And boy, did we have fun creating our Pure Kisumé Gin.

The inspiration? Kisumé itself, which in English translates to ‘pure obsession with beauty’. We wanted to make an elegant gin to sit alongside the pure flavours of Kisumé’s exquisite sushi but equally one with enough distinction to stand up in the cocktails of their bar or the drinks we’ve got on the list at the distillery now.

So we played with a mix of Australian botanicals, Japanese flavours and fresh fruit. The final product is a distillation of Yarra Valley nashi pear and fuji apple, bright tart yuzu from Queensland, Tasmanian Wasabi, the exceptionally fragrant strawberry gum, sesame seed, lemon myrtle, sansho pepper, ume, juniper and orris root.

Once we got the distilled spirit just right, we finished it with a splash of Australian-made Junmai Sake.