A Sunshine Coast distillery has come up with a distinctively Australian way to have your Vegemite and ‘toast’ on our national holiday.
Sunshine & Sons, in Woombye, has added a yeasty twist to their cocktail list with some inventive beverages that only Australians can truly appreciate.
The Spirited Aussie Splice is a splash of Sunshine & Sons’ Pineapple Parfait Gin over a tropical pineapple sorbet and lightly dusted with powdered Vegemite for a real kick of flavour.
Or for the more adventurous there’s the Australia Day version of an espresso martini (shaken), which is the Sunshine & Sons Mr Barista with their Original Vodka, vanilla and coffee.
It’s finished off with a coating of Vegemite dust and garnished with a triangle of Vegemite toast.
Sunshine & Sons is a distillery that produces a range of craft spirits on the Sunshine Coast, namely gin and vodka.
Sunshine & Sons co-founder Matt Hobson said the Australia Day cocktails were a visual tribute to Australia.
“The taste reflects our national flare and vibrancy and yes, the Vegemite certainly gives it a real extra kick,” he said.
“What could be a more Aussie way to celebrate Australia Day.
“When we started Sunshine & Sons we really wanted to have some fun with incredible Aussie ingredients and flavours, be inventive and offer people something different that they will love.
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With the popularity of Gin taking off in Australia, local production is up 40.7 per cent and imported levels up by 35.6 per cent.
The number of Australians partaking in a tipple has hit 9 per cent (that’s about 2.25 million people) compared with 7.4 per cent just 12 months earlier.
“Gin has really taken off in Australia in the past couple of years, it really is the spirit of Australia, finding its way back home into millions of Australian bars, right now,” said Mr Hobson.
Based on current production trends it is estimated that one in every five bottles of gin consumed in Australia is made here, up from one in every 70 just a few years ago.
Mr Hobson said it was the renewed interest in Gin drinking which was behind the creation of Sunshine & Sons distillery in 2020 and the first distillation on Australia Day of that year.
“Gin is a true cocktail chameleon – it can be chilled and relaxed, or host a party with the most colourful pack,” Mr Hobson said.
“For us at Sunshine & Sons, this really is a reflection not just of our brand, and bottles and spirits, but in the blokes who helped bring our vision to life,” said Mr Hobson.
