Twelfth Hour Gin is a classic with a twist of lime that breaks the rules without breaking the rules.
Traditionally, gin is made with juniper (of course), coriander, angelica root, cassia (a cousin of cinnamon), cardamom, and citrus fruits, as well as any number of other botanicals. It’s a list that grows as our thirst for gin grows, spawning new variations on the traditional spirit.
Though there are references to a juniper flavoured spirit as early as 70 AD, the Dutch are credited with using a heady beverage called ‘jenever’ as medicine around the year 1600, when the British caught wind of the spirit on the battlefield and brought it back to England where it would eventually morph into what we know now as gin.
Centuries later, here in New Zealand in the year 2020, Andrew Shannon, Pawat Lamwilai, and Angela Tsang experimented with gin, looking to create a new classic. The three friends set out to disrupt the Kiwi gin scene, and 22 iterations later, Twelfth Hour Distillery’s signature gin was born: light and fresh, bursting with the aromatic oils of makrut (kaffir lime) as the hero botanical – a spark of genius that was in part care of Pawat’s Thai heritage (the makrut leaves are even sourced from his mother’s garden).
And to those traditionalist drinkers, because makrut is a citrus fruit, this gin doesn’t technically deviate from the centuries’ old recipe, so it is, in a way, a traditional gin. Far from novelty, the flavours of this gin meld together the way the botanicals in a gin should. It’s harmonious.
And yet it’s different enough to be a refreshing change – a disruption – just as Andrew, Pawat and Angela set out to create. And what’s not to love about harmonious rebellion that you can drink?
Twelfth Hour use small batch distillation. They only make 140 bottles per batch from their four 30-litre stills – a quantity that gives the team more control over the quality of their gin. They have the ability to be extremely meticulous.
After distillation, the gin is non-chill filtered, so that all the botanical oils are retained. This is what makes the gin so distinctly aromatic – the flavours are all retained and the resulting gin extremely smooth with a particularly pronounced nose and lingering finish, lending itself to sipping and savouring neat. Though it is great in a gimlet too.
Little wonder Twelfth Hour has picked up one gold and five silver medals in 12 months (San Fran world spirits comp, London spirits comp, IWSC comp, AU gin awards, NZ (juniper) gin awards, NZ spirit awards).
How best to enjoy this twist on a classic? The artisans at Twelfth Hour Distillery recommend you pair it with your favourite tonic and muddle with bruised makrut leaf or garnish with a ribbon of cucumber.
It’s a tipple that would be just as at home at the most celebratory cocktail party as it would be sipped at home at the end of a long week.
