After experimenting with some exclusive batches of a high-proof gin for the Gin Palace we decided to add fresh 'Judy's Everbearing’ native finger limes (alongside our beautiful organic oranges) for its first release in 2014. This fresh citrus goes into the botanical basket, with some fresh ginger, giving our Navy Strength Gin its signature power and intensity.
The finger limes highlight the Asian spices like coriander and star anise, and are complemented by the fresh ginger. Then turmeric adds weight to the palate and a fresh but earthy quality, not unlike dill.
The resulting gin has lifted aromatics of lime curd, pine needles, and fragrant spices with a vanilla character which pulls it all together. The palate is intense - sweet and juicy - but it is still very clean.
Four Pillars Navy Strength is a gin very much in the Four Pillars style, but with the flavour turned up slightly beyond 11. Fresh ginger brings spiciness to the gin, while turmeric adds weight and a lovely earthiness. Also in the botanical basket are some native finger limes, grown in Byron Bay. They have an intensity of flavour that is almost impossible to believe, and they help the gin attain super citrus notes and lovely high-toned freshness.
Navy Strength Gin is an intense but smooth gin, made for cocktails. This overproof gin is distilled with native finger limes and fresh ginger in the botanical basket, giving it great power and intensity. Turmeric adds weight to the palate and a fresh but earthy quality, and the palate is sweet and juicy but still very clean.
Back in the nineteenth century gin was thought to be panacea to many things encountered on the high seas. The gimlet was invented by a doctor in the Royal Navy to ward off scurvy, with gin to fortify and Roses Lime cordial for Vitamin C.
But several of the more gin-savvy officers of the Royal Navy suspected their supplies of gin were being diluted so they devised a test.
Often the gin was stored below deck adjacent to the gunpowder and if it was spilt onto the gunpowder and it smoked, the gin had been diluted. Only if the gunpowder still lit was the gin at least 114 proof (or 57% ABV). And so it became known as Navy Strength.
