Two Moons Distillery have just announced the launch of a new gin. The calamansi-forward drink uses the Southeast Asian citrus as one of the botanicals to create a fresh flavour and is the second installment to their main portfolio.
Speaking on the unexpected inspiration for the new drink Two Moons Distillery’s co-founder and head distiller Dimple Yuen explained:
“It wasn’t planned at all! We were on our way to pick up the copper still we made in collaboration with Ping Kee Copperware and happened to have a bowl of laksa for lunch,”
“Usually, the condiments come with a lime wedge, but to our surprise, the restaurant gave us a calamansi. The bright and zesty aroma is just so captivating, so we were really intrigued. After doing some research, we found that a local farm [Sheung Shui’s Fu Kam Organic Farm] grew its own variety, and we knew we had to use it! It’s just so citrusy, bright, refreshing, and also very representative of Southeast Asia – we fell in love right away.”
The calamansi fruit is small but packs a serious sour punch. The taste is something between a sour orange or a sweeter lime and also a bit tart. Two Moons Calamansi Gin uses the whole fruit as a botanical – using a Hong Kong and a Vietnamese variety – blended with only two other ingredients, which is the juniper and coniferous evergreen spruce. In the Philippines, where calamansi is a native fruit, there are several craft gins already utilising the citrus as a botanical, but the Two Moons rendition brings it more forward. The gin is bright and zesty on the nose, and a perfect balance of pine and citrus on the palate. We enjoyed drinking it neat, but it’s great to mix with ice since the weather is getting warmer. For a more refreshing taste, mix it with an Indian tonic and garnish it with a slice of fresh calamansi.
Unfortunately, the bottle won’t be available in the market yet, but those interested in getting the first taste can pre-order on the Two Moons website, and have it delivered between June 2 and 4. The Two Moons Calamansi Gin comes in a 700ml bottle ($530) and in a Collector’s Edition box set ($228) that includes a mini 200ml Calamansi Gin bottle, a sachet of artisan sea salt harvested from Hong Kong’s only working salt pan in Sai Kung, and a recipe instruction to make salted calamansi G&T inspired by the classic Hong Kong salted lime soda drink.
For those of you keen to order this intriguing new drink – check out the Two Moons Distillery Website.