Meet a new premium gin with a serious point of difference

You could probably drink a different Australian artisan gin every day for a year or more.

A new release this week, however, has a serious point of difference.

King Island Distillery Bass Strait has just released its King Island Coastal Gin ($93), the first in its ultra-premium spirits range.

King Island is home to some of the world's cleanest air and purest water, sitting halfway between Victoria and Tasmania. It is a remote and sparsely populated island surrounded by wild seas - and home to a couple of the best golf courses in Australia.

The distillery’s spirits are produced and distilled on King Island. It will soon have over 1-million litres of rainwater harvesting on site, and uses traditional production methods.

“We’re excited to share King Island with the world; our vision for the distillery has always been to create a world-class product with world-class ingredients,” said co-founder Vaughan O’Connor.

“Our King Island Coastal Gin captures the essence of King Island in a bottle, it is unwaveringly smooth on the palate showcasing botanicals of Australian coastal origin including some unique to King Island.”

Setting up a distillery in the middle of the Bass Strait has by no means been easy.

“Operating on a small, remote island in the Southern Ocean, we have no corners to cut," says O'Connor.

"Production costs have been higher, logistics have been harder, however the quality is like nothing else.

"We chose this remote haven, far from the influence of civilisation, for one reason: to craft perfection.”

That's a laudable aim and they have actually gone pretty close. I loved the purity of the gin, its crisp, clean finish, sea spray and fresh botanical notes.

“Our spirits are fermented and created on site," says O'Connor. "We use minimal filtration, thanks to the purity of our ingredients, which creates an unmatched flavour profile.”

The distillery now produces over 140,000 bottles of spirits per annum. The growing team includes a distiller, a food technologist and whey conversion expert for the distillery’s white spirit line, along with founders and backers with a wealth of industry expertise.

King Island Coastal Gin is produced with almost entirely Australian botanicals including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris, cassia, native oregano, saltbush and waxflower along with foraged King Island bull kelp and rock salt. It has a distinctive tang to it.

King Island Coastal Gin, Gidley Dry Gin and Martha’s Moonshine are available to purchase direct via King Island Distillery at www.kingislanddistillery.com.au