G&T time

Five Minutes with … Corinna Covner & Felix Clarke of Ester Spirits

Corinna and Felix, you’ve worked in the hospitality industry for years, tell us about that.

Corinna: Felix has been in hospitality his whole adult life, working in hotels, cocktail bars, dingy nightclubs and mega pubs, but always with a close affinity to alcohol and service. His family owns and operates a small vineyard in Oberon in the Central Ranges and he’s always had an interest in vintage and wine production. I have also been in hospitality since a very young age, working in kitchens and front of house. We met at Felix’s cafe Bellagio in Bronte. 

 What was your path to making spirits?

Originally Felix started making gin for me as a laugh, but the fabled recipe #6 ratified the pursuit and we thought that there might actually be something in this. After testing and tasting with friends and family, we decided it was time to take the gin to market — six years later. These gins were created for us. It’s our expression of what we want in a gin and our lifestyle in Australia — celebrating the climate, the native ingredients and the people.

What native ingredients are you using in the alcohol? How do you infuse these to create a unique flavour?

We started with a very traditional, dry-style botanical bill and then substituted as many native botanicals as possible without becoming too obscure. So alongside the very traditional ingredients such as juniper, cardamon and coriander, we have added cassia, macadamia, finger lime, Tasmanian pepperberry and lemon myrtle.

 How do you make a good gin and tonic?

Good G&Ts, like any drinks, are about what you put in. We only recommend premium mixers with our gins. For Ester, we recommend a dry, herbaceous tonic. Artisan Drinks London Dry is a great tonic for Ester. PS Soda, Fever Tree and StrangeLove are all readily available premium mixers that sit well with our product.

What is the best way to drink Ester gin?

Ester Dry is primarily a Negroni gin in our minds. The quality of your vermouth is as important as the gin. We recommend Cocchi Torino vermouth. At the moment we are drinking the Ester Strong in a classic Bee's Knees cocktail — Ester Strong, honey and lemon juice, add some umeshu to give it a lift. 

Ester Spirits’ gins have won awards including the International Wine and Spirit Competition’s Silver Medal: London Dry for Ester Spirits Dry Gin, and the Australian Gin Awards: Best in Show for Ester Strong Gin.

esterspirits.com.au