It’s the little things that grab us. Bottle design invariably does it, and the fancier the bottle, the more likely we are to turn back an aisle in the bottle-o to have a second glance. Sometimes, though, it’s what’s in the bottle that stops us for that extra look.
You know exactly what we’re talking about with tequila: the worm. And it’s a similar feeling with cinnamon schnapps, what with the scraps of gold floating around inside.
In Seven Seasons’ Green Ant Gin, it’s the ants.
The first time I told someone there were ants in my gin, they told me how frustrating it was that ants could get into anything. In this gin, they’re supposed to be there.
You’re buying the ants with the gin. It would be a snack if the ants had any dietary value, which they do not.
However, Seven Seasons’ Green Ant Gin is more than just “a gin with ants in it”, even if it is definitely that.
It’s a gin with a distinctly Australian flavour in the botanicals, and a bite that feels vaguely like what the ants would do if they had a chance and you threatened their colony. Kinda sorta.
Made with native juniper (boobialla), strawberry gum, pepperberry, lemon myrtle, and yes, green ants, the aptly named Green Ant Gin is unlike any other gin out there because of what it adds before and after the distillation process.
Poured from the bottle, the gin itself offers a delightful syrupy texture reminiscent of what we’ve had with Antipodes, but with a more direct bite on the senses.
The pepper berry comes out on the back palate, and if you get an ant in your glass, it’s kind of an extra that adds to the sensation. The ants are supposed to add a flavour of lime and coriander, and while there’s definitely a citrusy bite, it’s hard to know whether it’s because of the ants, or the combination of flavours and how our brains process it.
Whatever it is, it works a treat.
Enjoyed either straight, mixed, or simply the way we’ve been enjoying it — with a giant ice cube in the middle to gradually soften that bite as the afternoon lingers on — this is a nice gin that’s more than worth looking at.
You’ll definitely show it off on your alcohol cabinet, but more than that, it’s easy to like, as well. You mightn’t even want to share it.
A great Australian gin, Green Ant Gin is one of a kind.
Oh and as for what the ants taste like, the answer is gin.
They’re a little crunchy, as you might expect an ant to be. They’re also swimming in gin, which just adds to the experience overall.
