Meet the native Australian botanical fruit you’ve likely never heard of but will wish you’d discovered earlier. Now in gin form.

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, we’ll be toasting to Seven Seasons’ new native botanical gin all winter long. You’re not likely to have seen it on supermarket shelves, but Bush Apple Gin’s namesake fruit asserts a refreshing flavour you’ll be seeking out in future.

Quite unlike apples you’ve sampled in the past, the bush apple is not only bringing plum-pink hues to the distillers’ newly released gin but it’s conveying a vibrant berry, delicate eucalypt and floral orange-blossom-like flavour too.

Seven Seasons’ Bush Apple Gin sees Larrakia man Daniel Motlop – a former AFL player turned indigenous food-and-drink purveyor – follow up his radical Green Ant Gin that gained a following among gin lovers. Daniel’s hope is to celebrate his people’s culture through his spirited drops – so, while you’re enjoying your botanical-bolstered sip, you might learn something new about the Top End’s bountiful, delicious and unique produce.

Daniel says, “It was a dream of mine to create a company that celebrated the learning, culture and ingredients from the Top End,” says Motlop, who adds, “After the success of Green Ant Gin, a product I’d always wanted to make, it’s a natural progression to develop these new flavours and showcase what else my people have to offer.”

With homelands spanning Cox Peninsula to Gunn Point and from the Adelaide River to Manton Dam, The Larrakia people believe there are seven seasons that are marked by the arrival of dragonflies, fruiting trees and other natural cycles. Though bush apple’s harvest time may be heralded by Monsoon Season, marked by heavy rains, they’re set to brighten up our beverages during the cooler months.

Bush Apple Gin flavours (and colours) soda water wonderfully and is a suitable addition to a not-so-traditional Negroni – especially for those who don’t favour the bitter orange flavour of Campari.

Next month, Daniel’s third beverage release, a distinctive Native Yam Vodka, will become available.

Seven Seasons Bush Apple Gin is now available to purchase for $100 per 700ml bottle for all major retailers. For more details, head to: seven-seasons.com.au

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