Four Pillars’ cult favourite Bloody Shiraz gin is back and has brought a friend with it. For the first time in its eight-year run, the Bloody Series is branching out from shiraz grapes steeped in high-proof gin and has incorporated the more delicate and acidic brightness of pinot noir grapes. 

Debuting at the inaugural Bloody Midwinter Gin Festival – a line-up of gin-fuelled events celebrating the Bloody Shiraz Gin running from June 1 to July 30 – the super limited-run pinot noir will be showcased in all its floral glory.

Using cool-climate grapes secured from Boat O’Craigo and Yarra Station in the Yarra Valley, the fruit is steeped for around seven weeks in dry gin to produce an equally delicious but much more delicate Bloody gin, with notes of strawberry, rose petals, cherries and a whack of bright acidity. 

If you want to get your hands on a bottle of the Bloody Shiraz or Bloody Pinot Noir, you can order them online from $88, or better yet, head to one of the 15 booze midwinter events being held across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. 

Related story: The Four Pillars Gin Lab has opened in Surry Hills (but you’ll need a booking)

Highlights include a Golden Century x Sydney Lab takeover serving up dumplings and shiraz gin cocktails on June 18-19; a Payton and Jones wine and cocktail tutorial at Healesville Fireside Festival on July 8, 15 and 22; or a feast in a WWII hangar by the team at Stratton in Brisbane. The full line-up of events can be found here.

The Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz and Bloody Pinot Noir are available online at the Four Pillars website here.