Aside from the presents, the best part of Christmas is obviously the feasting. And a key component to any festive dining is seasonal dessert, including Christmas pudding.

But come to find yourself bored by the traditional brandy element of the dish, you now have an alternative thanks to Yarra Valley spirit kings Four Pillars. The local creators have turned their focus to the festive sweet treat this year with the launch of the Four Pills Christmas Gin Pudding. It’s a concoction of the limited-edition Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin, as well as a handful of gin-steamed oranges courtesy of the brand’s Rare Dry Gin distillations. The puddings are available for $30 a piece online. 

Of course the stand-out ingredient of the dish is the Four Pillars Australian Christmas Gin, which can be purchased by the bottle. It’s the second year in a row that the spirit has been created and is a tribute to co-founder Cam’s four loves – Australia, Christmas, gin, and his late mum, Wilma. This year, Cam distilled some Christmas puddings (which were homemade to Wilma’s recipe), placing them in a still with a base of juniper, cinnamon, star anise, coriander and angelica. The resulting alcoholic concoction was combined with gin aged in several 100-year-old Muscat barrels, with a dash of Classic Rutherglen Muscat thrown in for good measure. The result? A rich gin that tastes distinctly of Christmas and comes dressed in seasonally appropriate artwork (of Australian Christmas Beetles) created by artist Darren Song.

Whether pudding or tipple is more your style, both of the Four Pillars special Christmas creations can be purchased from November 4 online and in-store at the distillery.