Born out of owners Frank Moylan and Melissa Macfarlane’s obsession with aromatised wine, Botanik was nurtured into existence during Covid with the intention of showcasing the interesting botanicals found in the booze that lines the shelves of their shop.
Here’s Melissa Macfarlane with the three drinks that best represent what they’re all about.
No Words
The Last Word is a classic cocktail that was invented at the Detroit Athletic Club circa 1916. It sits on the classics list at Botanik and a Milk Punch version has been added to the experimental page. As a tribute, we invented the No Words: an almost clear, pale green drink with a last word foam on top and a maraschino cherry for garnish. For those who have never tried the original, it’s equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and fresh lime juice, and it’s a must for cocktail fans both new and old. In this case, we use Hepburn Distillery Trentham Harvest Gin.
Pretty In Pink
This cocktail was invented at Botanik as a prettier, softer and more approachable Negroni. It uses the same building blocks: a gin, a bitter and a vermouth. We hear a lot of people saying they don’t like the Negroni, so the challenge was laid down. We have a page of Negroni riffs to help people explore the world of vermouth and bitters, and this is hands-down the most popular – and not because of its ’80s music and film reference. In this case, we use Audemus Pink Pepper Gin, Distilleries et Domaines de Provence Orange Colombo – a delicate orange aperitif – and Autonomy Davo Plum Bitters, made in Melbourne. We finish it off with a blend of freshly cracked pepper and nigella seeds. The Davo Plum Bitters is one of our favourite ingredients in cocktails for its hint of Tasmanian pepperberry, which has similar qualities to Sichuan pepper. It’s also superb on its own or on the rocks.
The Balkan Shuffle
One of our favourite pastimes is to experiment with classics and swap out ingredients for something weird and wonderful from the shelves of the bottle shop. Somewhere in our research, we read about passionfruit and rosewater. That lead us to think about blending tropicals with the aromatics and botanicals of Italian amari. Montenegro is an elegant amaro with a strong note of rosewater, so here we are with a Rum Sour. Our version is called The Balkan Shuffle (and yes we know that Montenegro amaro is not from the Balkans). The backbone of the cocktail is Plantation Pineapple Rum, Montenegro and lemon. We add some simple syrup and egg white and shake, shake, shake.
Botanik, The Royal George Hotel, 24 Piper St, Kyneton, (03) 5417 2345, open 10am-7pm Monday to Thursday and 10am-9.30pm Friday and Saturday, @botanikkyneton, botanik.com.au