Native Red Lime Gin | Finders Distillery
WRITTEN BY KATE HUTCHESON
The Distillery
Travelling is all about finding yourself and your passion in life, and Georgia and Kyle Ford’s intrepid adventures helped them discover a love for and future in gin distilling. Having already taken the plunge and sold most of their belongings to embark on a two-year jaunt across the globe, the idea of starting their very own distillery didn’t seem too crazy. From there, the couple’s next adventure began.
Run entirely by Georgia and Kyle – from production, marketing and sales right through to serving cocktails at the distillery bar on the weekends – Finders Distillery is located in St Leonards in Sydney’s North Shore. Inspired by the many distilleries visited across the globe and the local produce consumed along the way, the couple wanted to produce a series of products that embodies their love of travel... and that they did.
If you’ve been a long-term subscriber of the Garden Street Gin Club this may ring some bells – we featured Finders’ Australian Dry gin back in September of 2020. We couldn’t resist the return trip to see what they’ve got for us next, it’s a real treat!
Through their newly-launched Locations Series, Finders aims to continue that spirit of travel, and the first release, the Native Red Lime Gin, does just that. For each planned release, Finders sources botanicals from a different region in Australia and creates a bespoke drink. With each gin, Finders seeks to spark curiosity that goes beyond the spirit and inspires customers to travel, and explore the places that inspired the flavours experienced in their glass.
Finders’ unique experience doesn’t end with what’s in the bottle, either. A visit to the cellar door offers the opportunity to chat with the owners themselves. This is where the magic happens – here Georgia and Kyle put in the hard work to produce, fill and label every bottle of the Finders gin and vodka. Each and every patron that visits the distillery is offered a complimentary tasting of the Finders Australian Dry Gin, during which Georgia and Kyle provide an explanation of the distillation process, and how each botanical influences the flavour. The distillery’s centrepiece is a stunning 300L copper pot hybrid still named Ranelagh, after the Irish town where the decision to create Finders Distillery was made.
Undeterred by ongoing lockdowns and restrictions around Australia (which began a mere five days after the company launched its first product!) Finders has picked up its fair share of international awards, including at the Australian Dry Gin Awards and the Australian Vodka Awards.
About The Native Red Lime Gin
The first release under the Finders’ Location Series, the Native Red Lime Gin is an intensely citrus tipple. In the initial stages of creating the gin, Georgia and Kyle visited Gondwana Native Lime Farm on the Macleay Valley Coast in New South Wales. Here, they took a tour of the beautiful orchard and learnt all about the produce that was going into their gin. The Aussie Red Lime is something of a well-kept secret, with an intriguing flavour profile that perfectly balances slightly sweet with a citrussy tang. These limes also have little to no pith so they’re perfect for distilling, as pith can release bitter flavours when distilled.
The Native Red Lime Gin uses a total of ten botanicals, with four being different variants of lime. The two feature botanicals in this gin are the Australian Red Lime (a hybrid between a finger lime and a Burmese rangpur lime) and the Native Red Finger Lime. The juice of a Native Red Finger Lime has a superb acid-sweetness to it, making it less tart than a regular lime and contributing to the delicate balance of the gin. This is used in conjunction with a Byron Sunrise finger lime and, to add to the citrus punch, Kaffir Lime leaf and Tahitian Limes. The result is a gin with an intense citrus nose, hints of pine, herbal notes and a long finish. Or, as Georgia Ford so eloquently puts it, the gin is ‘akin to taking a refreshingly citrus walk through the Aussie bush’.
This gin is the result of six months of rigorous recipe testing and trials that led to the perfect combination of botanicals. Finding that sweet spot between the different variants of lime was a process, but the result is worth all the efforts, with a balanced flavour profile that pairs perfectly in a G&T with Fever-Tree’s Refreshingly Light Tonic. For an elevated experience, pair this gin with fresh seafood or tacos, and for a culinary experience like no other, enjoy your G&T with a plate of oysters, garnished with finger lime caviar – you won’t regret it!
Other Finders Products
A gin we love over here at Garden Street, Finders’ Australian Dry Gin is Georgia and Kyles’ take on a London Dry Gin that, of course, celebrates Australian botanicals and produce. Their original release is made with nine botanicals, including wattle seed, native gum and chamomile, that are perfectly balanced and can be used to make a killer dry martini. Finders also offers a premium vodka that is made entirely from Australian ingredients. This sipping-style vodka has a creamy mouthfeel with notes of vanilla and a dry finish that could tempt even the most loyal gin-lovers to make the switch to vodka (temporarily, of course!)
There’s more to come, too. Finders has been quietly working away for the past two years on the next offering in the Location Series, with a view to release in 2022. The release of this new spirit will be announced in due course, and in the meantime, the cellar door in Northern Sydney is just begging to be explored.
Cheers!
Gin and Tonic Pairing
This month’s gin pairs with a lighter tonic, we have chosen Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Tonic.
- 30ml Native Red Lime Gin
- 90ml Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Tonic
- A wheel of dehydrated orange
Method: Add a heap of ice and serve in a nice big glass.
Native Red Lime Gin and Tonic
Tasting Notes
Gin Type
Contemporary
Appearance
Clear and Bright
Aroma
The nose is intensely citrus with notes of piney juniper, Kaffir Lime Leaf and a slight sweetness from the red limes
Palate
Citrus forward, with deep herbal notes and rounded by Kaffir Lime Leaf
Botanicals
Juniper, Coriander seed, Angelica root, Orris root, Cassia bark, Chamomile, Australian Red Lime, Native Red Finger Lime, Byron Sunrise Finger Lime, Kaffir Lime Leaf, and Tahitian Lime
Finish
Warming, vibrant, lingering
Finders Summer Fizz Cocktail
- 30ml Native Red Lime Gin
- 30ml Lychee Liqueur
- 30ml Pineapple Juice
- 15ml Lime Juice
- 150ml Strangelove Spicy Ginger Beer
- Kaffir Lime leaves
Add the gin, lychee liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice & 1 torn Kaffir Lime Leaf to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until cold and double strain into a highball glass. Add a handful of ice cubes & top up with ginger beer. Garnish with a couple of Kaffir Lime Leaves.
