22 Gilbert Street, Adelaide

As a budding gin lover in Adelaide, I have obviously heard of Prohibition Gin. You would seriously have been hiding under a rock if you haven’t. Founded in 2015, it is a relatively new company, but one that is progressing in leaps and bounds in the Gin world. Prohibition gin has won a Premier’s Award and a Gold Medal for its Original Gin, as well as a gold medal award for its latest made edition, Juniperous Gin. With that information in mind, I made my way to Prohibition on a bright January summer’s afternoon, with nothing else in mind but to kick back, relax and imbibe my favourite tiple.

Prohibition Gin is located in Gilles Street, a few streets away from Adelaide’s famous Central Market. It is easily accessible by tram ( which is free between South Terrace and ???) if you would prefer to not to drive and leave your car at home. It is a bright airy building – the outside painted black , with lots of long wooden tables which gives it a very earthy feel. It is also attached to a coffee place ( name ) which closes at 3pm unfortunately for my accompanying friend who isn’t a drinker. Adjacent to the coffee place, is the cocktail bar with interesting art murals , which is open until late.

As it was my first visit, I went into the bar to ask the protocol, and one of very friendly young bar staff told me that they would quickly clear a table so we could sit inside. The day was warm, and I was glad of the air conditioning. We were given menus and quickly decided to share the Baked Brie with walnut rosemary and honeycomb, and the Stracciatella tomato salad. My friend who was still bemoaning her lack of coffee, was mollified when she found a non-alcoholic espresso martini. I, on the other hand, had come especially for the gin so I opted for the New World Flight, which consisted of the Prohibition Moonlight, Blood Orange 2021 Vintage, and the latest aforementioned Juniperous Gin, with chosen garnishes.

The small plates that came with the dishes were warm and matched the decor. The Baked Brie was my friend’s favourite , the sweetness of the honey and the crunchy texture of the walnuts perfectly complimenting the beautiful Baked Brie. I also liked the Stracciatella Tomato Salad – it had a lovely lightness and freshness that was just the right thing for a warm summer’s day, with the added texture of the crunchy pine nuts.

Many thanks to the lovely Victor , who actually pulled out a small stool beside us and went into detail of each gin that I was sipping and was ready to answer any questions about either the gin or the ingredients that went into them. He is obviously very passionate about the product and its origins and was a great wealth of knowledge. The oranges for the Blood Orange Gin come from Loxton in the Riverland area, which is a wonderful use of South Australian citrus. He also told us that the leftover oranges were used for the Orangello liqueur so nothing was wasted.  The Moonlight Gin is a floral gin that smelt like a perfume factory , but when the tonic was added it changed to a lighter rose colour, and it really brought out the pink lady apple flavour. 

The highlight for me though was the Juniperous, which is the newest of the bunch, with a garnish of dried grapefruit. As a take on the London Dry, the juniper berries took centre stage, but it was an extremely smooth drop with a very pleasurable mouth feel. To Be honest, I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a London Dry more. This one will be the benchmark for any following from here. 

We were almost ready to leave, but I couldn’t resist trying a cocktail, and Victor recommended a Purple Reign – which was the Moonlight gin, with lemon, apple brandy and apple and strawberry; a combination of sweet and sour, which is my favourite type of cocktail. (To be honest, I partly choose this because of a likeness a favourite Prince song back in the eighties, which is showing my age!) The sweetness and tartness combination rounded off our visit perfectly. My friend was also happy to have a Capi Blood Orange mixer, and she was happily surprised when it turned up at the table with a pretty orange and mint garnish. 

As we were leaving, I took a quick detour to the bathroom and saw the still in which all the gins were made, as I was proudly told, right  there on the premises.  I stood for a moment, gazing at the shiny piece of equipment, thinking of the gin that it had help create, and of all the pleasant conversations that it had started. And I couldn’t help but silently thank the wonderful creators of the Prohibition Liqueur company for making it all possible. 

Adelaide Gin