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June 19, 2020
Habits

KI Spirits and Islander Estate Vineyards release collab gin for bushfire recovery

Two Kangaroo Island booze producers have teamed up to help raise money for Disaster Relief Australia.

  • Words: Johnny von Einem

With wall-to-wall coverage of the coronavirus throughout global media now the norm, it’s easy to forget that in January this year all our attention was trained on the bushfires raging across the country.

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Throughout summer, destruction was wrought in the Adelaide Hills and on Kangaroo Island, with almost half of the island razed by fire.

The national crisis now seems a lifetime ago, but the recovery process is still ongoing.

Islander Estate Vineyards suffered the greatest damage on 10 January, when a fire burning in Parndana Conservation Park spread into their neighbouring property. The fire destroyed all of their 280-hectare property, including all of their vines.

Charitable organisation Disaster Relief Australia assisted with the clean-up of Islander Estate Vineyards’ property, and as a gesture of thanks the winery has teamed up Kangaroo Island Spirits to produce a special release gin, with $10 from every bottle being donated to DRA.

Called Wally Wild, the gin is aged in an Islander Estate Vineyards demi-muid (600L French oak barrel), which is used to bake their Wally White semillon.

The gin is also super limited – only 1,800 bottles of Wally Wild have been made.

“The creation of the Wally Wild gin has meant we can assist in supporting our wonderful friends at the Islander Estate Vineyard through this unprecedented time and also Disaster Relief Australia, the organisation that assisted with the clean-up of Islander Estate Vineyard,” says KIS co-owner Jon Lark.

Wally Wild gin is described as having the aroma of “rich melon notes with a hint of butterscotch,” with honey, musk flavours on the palate.

The gin is available for purchase at the Islander Estate Vineyard cellar door, the Kangaroo Island Spirits cellar door, or online.

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