One of the things that makes Australia’s spirits industry so extraordinary, is the multitude of incredible and unique local ingredients that distillers have access to here.
Sustainably supporting the industry for such local ingredients was one of the big drivers behind a brand that is picking up speed this year – Seven Seasons. Founded by former AFL player Daniel Motlop, the brand uses indigenous Australian ingredients to create what it calls ‘the world’s oldest new flavours.’
Motlop, whose family is behind indigenous ingredient wholesaler Something Wild, said one of the biggest drivers behind the first Seven Seasons project was to generate and fulfil demand for such ingredients. This project is one that many in the bar industry will be familiar with – the Green Ant Gin, launched in 2017 in collaboration with Adelaide Hills Distillery.
From the start of this idea, Motlop said: “It was for the commercial supply of native ingredients – we really wanted to make it commercial.
“We didn’t want just one or two kilos in the whole distilling process, we wanted to really make sure we used a lot of native ingredients so that we could buy a lot and commit to stuff from Aboriginal communities.”
In 2020, Seven Seasons was acquired by Mighty Craft, which has enabled wider distribution around Australia, to make Seven Seasons one of Mighty Craft’s fastest growing brands. And now in 2021, the brand has already released two new products in the range, with a Bush Apple Gin launching in April and a Native Yam Vodka making a debut this month (which is marks the first time native yams have been distilled into alcohol).
All three of the products align with the brand’s namesake that recognises how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use nature as their clock. For the Larrakia people in the Top End, there are seven seasons, each marked by changes in the weather, plants, animals and other natural cycles.
“The Seven Seasons branding has a whole story and it will be told over the next couple of years with what we’re doing and how it aligns with every season,” Motlop said.
“Basically when we harvest a certain native ingredient out of the Larrakia area, it’ll align with and represent those seasons, to be told as a story in bars and pubs so that people understand a little bit more of the culture. It’s a premium spirit so it’s also nice to drink, but the greatest thing about this is that it tells a story about culture in a great way.”
For more from Motlop, read the full article on Bars and Clubs.
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