Colombo No.7 (London Dry Gin) – A TASTE LIKE NO OTHER

Story and pics: Marie Pietersz, Melbourne

For the second year running, Colombo No.7 Gin was selected by organisers Caroline Childerley, the Gin Queen (Australia) and Olivier and Emile Ward (co-owners, Gin Foundry, UK) to showcase their brand of spirits at the Juniperlooza Melbourne 2018 Gin Festival held at the Meat Market, North Melbourne on 27 and 28 October.

Juniperlooza (Juniper = berry, the main ingredient in Gin, and Looza = festival or celebration) Melbourne made its debut in 2016 and this year again was a sold-out, over-subscribed event with some 2500 gin lovers eager to sample the variety of international and local Gin products on offer by established distillers and newcomers to the industry.

Olivier confided that when choosing exhibitors for these famed gin festivals held in the Spring in Melbourne, London and Hamburg, they look for the characters and the spirit of the gin producers because they believe these passions are reflected in the spirits they distil, which no doubt is the case when it comes to Colombo No.7 Gin, listening to its fourth generation founder Amal de Silva Wijeratne explain how this special blend came into being.

Gin tasters at the festival standing three to four deep waited their turn to sample this premier spirit drink distilled to a unique recipe using seven spices and botanicals grown in Sri Lanka, making Colombo No.7 Gin a distinctly Sri Lankan take on a London Dry Gin.

Amal was busy explaining to enquiring samplers the special taste of his company’s Gin and the seven botanicals that make up the recipe – native ingredients cinnamon bark, curry leaves, ginger root and coriander seeds and base ingredients juniper berries, liquorice and angelica – to create a beautifully balanced, subtly spiced Gin, and in case you are wondering, no, it does not taste like curry. On the contrary, it is Gin at its best.

He tells me that this year he has brought more stock as they sold out on the second day of the festival last year, so popular was this spirit at its Melbourne debut. Also at the stand helping Amal to pour and story-tell were Bryce Jamie (Australian Distributor, Exquisite Liquors), and British-born and Sri Lankan resident Graham Merricks (International Marketing)

This beautiful Gin story started in Sri Lanka 70 years ago during the British occupation of Sri Lanka. The Rockland Gin company (the first distillery in Sri Lanka and maker of Ceylon Arrack) was commissioned to supply the British with their spirits, which were manufactured in Sri Lanka using European botanicals, but during the Second World War, when these ingredients were hard to come by, the spirit makers were forced to turn their minds to a recipe derived from local Sri Lankan ingredients. Thus was born Colombo No.7 and the rest is history.

Colombo No.7 Gin is the first Asian-made, handcrafted Gin of its kind, which at the time of its concoction, stunned the British Excise Officers at the realisation that such a good Gin could be produced outside of the UK, so much so that they passed a law “Ceylon Made Foreign Liquor (CMFL)” allowing non-native spirits to be made in South Asia and exported around the world.

Today, Colombo No.7 Gin is produced in the UK, but the Gin remains true to his grandfather Founder Carl de Silva Wijeratne’s original recipe, still handcrafted in small batches using copper pot stills. Over the years the company tried to improve the recipe but found that Amal’s grandfather had already perfected it, and so the original recipe remains today.

Like me, you will be blown away with the aroma and the subtle spices that will tantalise your taste buds until the smooth flavours of the juniper and other ingredients of this beautifully balanced Gin kick in to hit your senses and linger. You know then you are on to something special.

Tasting note: Good accompaniment with spicy foods, G&T and other bitters. Recommend garnishing with citrus/orange peel, even peppercorns, and serve on ice.

Bottling note: 500 ml and 700 ml sizes, 43.1% ABV, costs range from $47 to $55 for the small size and $67.50 to $75 for the large size. Prices may vary due to promotional offers and shipping costs. Available at all good wine stores. For full listing visit the importer’s website www.exquisiteliquors.com.au and to purchase online from Nicks Wine Merchants and Melbourne Wine Store. Also listed and served in popular Sri Lankan Restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney.

Watch out for Colombo No.7 Gin soon to be available at Dan Murphy’s.