We might be putting on our winter woolies but drinks makers are not slowing down as they start releasing new creations for the winter months. These are some of the newest releases which we have taste tested for your pleasure. Our picks for those which are perfect for curling up on the sofa and sharing with friends.

Jimmy Brings – Wine, Beer and Spirits delivered in under 30mins!

Booze within 30 minutes? Nooo??? YESS!!!! We didn’t quite believe it either till we tried it, and we are hooked. We simply jumped into the website, added our postcode and went shopping for a case of beer (John Boston Pale Ale $55) and (4x Mist & Shadows Chardonnay$33). A quick Google search found these prices on par with others. Then a click to cart with a $6.95 delivery fee and we are off!

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Within moments an email was sent through and the tracking screen appears. We noticed an error on the bill and clicked to ‘customer service chat’ and within seconds the refund came through to our credit card. WOW What amazing customer service! Within 20 mins our delivery was at our front door and we cracked open a lovely (chilled) buttery chardonay. Delish! Check out Jimmy here

Australian Rum, Brix Distillers lauch their first Select Cast Series – Stout Barrel Release

After four years of long and patient work – led by industry-renowned distiller, Shane Casey – Surry Hills distillery Brix, is launching its first ever, super-premium, limited-edition aged rum, with only 580 bottles up for grabs. Using Champagne and Caribbean Rum yeast the ex Bourbon barrels have quite a story; first they are sent to local stout brewery, Stockade to infuse with Imperial Stout, then they are filled with Brix and left to rest for a number of years. We were lucky enough to get a taster of this rum which is quite remarkable. It’s a complex blend of nose and mouth flavours. Almond, vanilla, dark chocolate & coffee with a bit of creme caramel thrown in for fun. Smooth and delicious. Sign up here to be the first to try and get some at Brix Distillers

Lark Whisky Tasting Flight

Tassie’s award winning Lark is Australia’s first carbon-neutral distillery. They have just created a limited release gift set with their most popular releases such as Lark’s flagship Classic Cask single malt, Larks first ever blended malt, SYMPHONY Nº1 all in 3 x 100ml bottles.

If you haven’t yet tried it then our favourite is SYMPHONYT No.1. It’s their first blended malt thanks to American oak bourbon with balance from sherry and heavier depth of port to form a creamy, oily melody of flavours. Its a big boy in all the best ways!

Meanwhile thier ‘Classic’ is a lovely dram with citrus and toffee flabours and soft peat which gives a lovely balance. Check out their website for more details

John Paul Nivana – Indian Single Malt Whisky

Whisky from India? No!! Yes!! This Goan produced Whiskey range is shaking-up the whiskey world. Global accolades include Liquid Gold Award by Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, Best Asian Whisky and the Double Gold Award from San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Six row barley is sourced from the foothills of Himalayas which has a higher fiber and protein content, delivering more fatty acids for a deep, robust flabour. Rain-fed water flowing through the Western Ghats and Goan wetlands contributes to flavour. After a taste test we found it to be a lovely well rounded whisky, lots of honey, caramel and maybe even a touch of Christmas cake with soft spices. We saw what has happened to those early bottles of Lark…so maybe this is your top shelf investment!
Check out the website here and store locators

NON Everyday Range

The NoLo (no- and low-alcohol) drinks market is booming, with innovative and interesting flavours beyond “coke, lemonade or mineral water”. Based on fruit and botanical flavours, they’re drinks that aren’t sugary-sweet. NON created them by “intricately balancing fruit, tannins, salinity, and acidity” for every occasion from aperitifs and spritzers to after-dinner drinks.

NON1 (Salted Raspberry & Chamomile) is our absolute favourite of the three. Sparkling and lightly sweet, with a subtle undertone of soothing chamomile, it tastes as much of black cherries as raspberries. The saltiness is super light.
NON3 (Toasted Cinnamon & Yuzu) is a still drink with the wonderful grapefruit-fresh tang of Yuzu, an East Asian citrus that’s increasingly popular in Australia. We can’t taste the cinnamon but there’s a sharp hit of verjuice. As an experiment we carbonated it, which took it to another level.
NON7 (Stewed Cherry & Coffee) is another sparkler, with a good balance of cherry and coffee flavours. The spice notes – allspice, nutmeg, pink peppercorn – are very subtle.
NON’s is available now online for a limited time only at a discounted rate of $70 RRP during July and August. $5=10 meals from every purchase goes towards OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organisation
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Hendrick’s NEPTUNIA Gin

NEPTUNIA is the third limited edition release from Master Distiller Ms. Lesley Gracie’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Encapsulating the magic of the sea in a gin, Hendrick’s NEPTUNIA adds another wave of flavour with an enticing chorus of deeply refreshing coastal botanicals.  Hendrick’s only releases one treasured Cabinet of Curiosities bottling at a time – so catch it now before it disappears from the horizon. 
Hendrick’s NEPTUNIA Gin  available for a limited time in 2022 for RRP: $95 and can be purchased nationwide in Dan Murphy’s by the end of June 2022. 

Citadel Jardin D’Ete Gin

A newcomer to the gin market, Citadelle Jardin d’Été has already won a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2021 and a gold medal at the International Spirits Challenge 2021. It’s inspired by the garden cultivated by Debbie Gabriel, wife of Citadelle Founder Alexandre Gabriel at the Château de Bonbonnet in France where flowers, fruits and herbs fill the air with perfume. Arguably a place we would all prefer to be this winter! It’s a fragrant gin tasting of melon, lemons and Japanese yuzu and orange zest. With over 19 botanicals, go on just take a ramble in the gardens
Available for purchase now for $78 RRP at First Choice Liquor.

Aviation Gin 

Saw Top Gun Maverick and now all about leather bomber jackets and aviators? Okay, that might just be us, but Aviation American Gin hits the theme spot on. We’re all about Miles Teller in the new movie, but hey, Aviation Gin has Ryan Reynolds and hello, we’re all about that too! Seriously though, Aviation Gin has a slew of awards to back up the celebrity endorsement and on a cold winter’s night, an Aviation Negroni will really heat you right up.
Available for $79.99 from Dan Murphy’s, BoozeBud, First Choice Liquor, Vintage Cellars, and all good independents. https://www.aviationgin.com/

Writers Tears Irish Whisky

Reviewer Ian Buxton recently added Writers Tears to his publication “101 Whiskeys to try before you die”. Rightly so, it’s sensational, partly due to the fact it’s distilled three times instead of the traditional two, creating a velvety texture. You will taste apple, vanilla and honey with base notes of ginger spices, oak and toffee. In the 19th and early 20th Century Ireland had a boom of producing whisky at a time of great Irish novelists, poets and playwrights. It became known as the ‘champagne of Irish whiskey’. Writers Tears was a master blend of pot still and malt whiskeys, both distilled in copper pots. It was said that these writers enjoyed Writers Tears so much, that they cried tears of whiskey. Today it is a Gold Medal winner at the International Spirits Challenge in London and one of the highest-rated Irish Whiskeys in Jim Murrays Iconic “Whiskey Bible”. This is a gem to love and cuddle on a cold winters night.
Purchase Writers Tears at your local Dan Murphys from $79.99