South Gin

There doesn't seem to be a lot of "Tiki Drinks" with gin in them but thought this might interest somebody; South Gin is made by the same people who make Seven Tiki Rum. It has been bought by Bacardi (which won't win it any points here) but is still made in New Zealand. It boasts 9 different botanicals, including 2 "traditional Maori medicinal herbs" - manuka berries & kawakawa leaves. The others are juniper berries (of course), coriander seeds, orris root, angelica, sweet orange, lemon peels, and gentian root.

It's been around for a few years, but I didn't really find anything here about it here. Has anyone tried it or recommend any drinks to try it in?

On 2011-05-09 19:30, MadDogMike wrote:
There doesn't seem to be a lot of "Tiki Drinks" with gin in them but thought this might interest somebody; South Gin is made by the same people who make Seven Tiki Rum. It has been bought by Bacardi (which won't win it any points here) but is still made in New Zealand. It boasts 9 different botanicals, including 2 "traditional Maori medicinal herbs" - manuka berries & kawakawa leaves. The others are juniper berries (of course), coriander seeds, orris root, angelica, sweet orange, lemon peels, and gentian root.

It's been around for a few years, but I didn't really find anything here about it here. Has anyone tried it or recommend any drinks to try it in?

I haven't heard of it but, if Bacardi bought it it was a threat. It must be good.

South Gin and Seven Tiki Rum are made by the same people, but their original spirit was/is 42BELOW vodka. Seven Tiki never saw the light of day here in Aus. as already mentioned, Bacardi saw it as a threat and didn't want a white rum on the market competing with their own product and bought the rights to the brand/name. The South Gin came out later and although the distibutor of Bacardi is sure to have a gin in their stable, i'm not sure why South was released if they bought the rights. It must have only been for the rum only as the vodka and gin are readily available.

Now i'm personally a gin drinker (and rum of course :D) and drink gin on the rocks when i'm out at a bar and not drinking cocktails. The New Zealand botanicals are certianly noticable and make South stand out as a different gin to what else is on the market. It definitely is not as strong flavoured as say Bombay Sapphire- which I will drink but is not my first choice- but it is a very good gin in my opinion well worth trying if you like gin itself.

I can't recommend any cocktails with it as such but would say it would work fine in place of any other brand in a mixed drink. Only one way to find out. :P

[ Edited by: swizzle 2011-05-09 21:04 ]

Bacardi saw it as a threat and didn't want a white rum on the market competing with their own product

Correction: Seven Tiki is actually a gold spiced rum

On 2011-05-10 06:05, Rum Balls wrote:

Bacardi saw it as a threat and didn't want a white rum on the market competing with their own product

Correction: Seven Tiki is actually a gold spiced rum

I had a feeling I was getting that mixed up. The original rum that was released WAS a white rum, although I can't remember what it was called. It had a pretty cool bottle with a traditional Maori tiki on it, and I believe it was either made in Fiji or the sugar cane from Fiji. I only ever got to try it once and that was a long time ago. From what I recall it was actually quite harsh and average, however it was definitely that product that caused the fuss with Bacardi, as the bar I tried it at had one bottle and then after waiting a long time for it to be released, we never saw it again. And it was as far as I know the second product produced by the manufacturers of 42BELOW vodka. The South gin came after. I honestly cant recall if i've even seen a bottle of Seven Tiki here before. I know I would have tried it if I had but I could have been drunk at the time so that's why I don't remember. :D

Although Bacardi don't sell a spiced rum here, if they own Seven Tiki, it would explain why they haven't released it here in Aus. as they don't want another product competeing against their own, even if it is owned by them.

[ Edited by: swizzle 2011-05-10 14:47 ]

3 oz gin, 1 oz vermouth, splash of bitters, lemon or olive (or pickle, or pickled tomato, or cocktail onion)

Its totally a tiki drink :D