Local Botanicals in our Local Gin

What Botanicals Should Go In A Gin

Gin is the fabulous drink we all love thanks to the botanicals used to impart flavour, aroma and texture. Coriander makes the gin taste and smell different from cardamom, which is different from almond, peppercorns, and even gorse flower. Choosing what botanicals to use in a gin is an art learnt through science and experience, but choosing where these botanicals come from is just as important.

Terroir — Environmental Factors Impacting Each Botanical

Depending on where each botanical is grown, it will taste vastly different. The soil, climate and farming practice all impact the final botanical.

We love to use local botanicals in our gin wherever we can. We are excited that we are now phasing in Canterbury coriander seed, after finding a locally grown crop that is perfect for gin-making. We trialled coriander seed from overseas and from around New Zealand, and the Canterbury-grown version was our favourite. Coriander seed should give gin clean and spicy citrus notes, and this is exactly what our new local gin botanical does.

Half NZ-Grown Botanicals

Other Canterbury botanicals we use are barley and sloe berries, while our oranges and lemons come from Gisborne. This means that half our Citrus Gin botanicals are New Zealand grown, and very nearly half our Dry Gin botanicals are locally grown.

Unfortunately New Zealand isn't capable of growing some spices — like ginger root and nutmeg — to the high standards that we require, but with climate change who knows, maybe these will grow well in Northland in the near future.

Update (2026): our coriander seed now comes from overseas again. The New Zealand ingredients in our gins today are Canterbury barley, Gisborne oranges, lemons and Ugli fruit, Rangpur limes from Six Acres Farm in Taranaki — and the sloes we grow ourselves at New Zealand's only sloe orchard.