A new gin by Never Never Distillery champions the humble pear in a quest to put local Adelaide Hills fruit to decent bottled use. The newly arrived Carn The Pear has been processed at their distillery in McLaren Vale and fuses elements of fresh pear, zesty lemon, dark wooded spices and notes of cinnamon. What’s not to love about that?
The Write Drop talks to Sean Baxter for our At The Bar series.
MY CITY
I’m a very proud inhabitant of Adelaide. I’ve lived and worked all around Australia, and originally from country Queensland. I love calling Adelaide home. It’s a city that reminds me of all my favourite suburbs I’ve ever lived, all in one place. A lot of Australia calls Adelaide boring, I don’t mind, it tends to keep out all the idiots.
FAVOURITE FOOD MEMORY
There’s a lot, but it would have to be Sicily. Sitting in a side street of Cefalu eating fritto misto and drinking cheap rosé in the baking heat before heading off for a swim in crystal clear water. The little photo of the cafe sits in our lounge room and whenever we’ve had a particularly rough day, my wife and I time travel there in an instant.
FAVOURITE BAR
I could never choose just one. Hains & Co for my martini (if you can, have one upstairs in Ralph Louis Frederick, the owner’s private whisky bar). Proof Bar for a big glass of Chardonnay and Maybe Mae for something a little extra.
DRINK THAT DESCRIBES YOU
If I were being honest, probably an espresso martini because depending on the hour I’m usually full of booze, sugar or coffee. But if I were being a little more poetic, perhaps a Black Velvet, a drink that combines equal parts Champagne and Guinness, which I’m sure seemed like a good idea at the time, but in the end, more often than not, just ruins two perfectly good drinks.
BEST HANGOVER CURE
A bacon sandwich eaten over the sink in a childfree kitchen.
BEST INTERSTATE BAR
Again, a hard one. If I’m in Melbourne it would be Gimlet on a weekend, sit at the bar, order the martini and the cheeseburger. If I’m in Sydney, I enjoy having a drink at Earls Juke Joint in Newtown most likely after a few afternoon wines at Continental Deli. If I was in Brisbane it was always Alba Bar and Deli for baked scallops and cold shots of sherry.
FAVOURITE WINE – A BOTTLE YOU HAVE ENJOYED WITH FRIENDS + FAMILY
The little winery where we are located in McLaren Vale does a very special wine called Alpha Crucis in many different varietals. I particularly enjoy the Chardonnay with its big biscuity aromatics. Tastes like honeyed cashew nuts. We get staff prices there, so we drink it a lot, especially on special occasions.
FAVOURITE WINERY – WHERE SHOULD WE VISIT THAT YOU REALLY LIKED
Outside of our own I love to send people over to Dandelion Vineyards around the corner from us (but use fruit from the Vale, Barossa, Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Eden Valley). It has a stunning cellar door that represents some of the best architecture in the region, filled with really unique wines built from the wine makers (Elena Brooks) upbringing in Bulgaria before relocating to South Australia to study wine in the late 90’s. Her story is almost as good as her wines.
NEXT DESTINATION
Sunshine Beach in Queensland for a family Christmas (pretty much the only holidays we have) is an amazing family tradition that I shall not be giving up anytime soon. Cold prawns and beers at the surf club trying to find a tv near the cricket while granny looks after the boys.
https://neverneverdistilling.com.au/carn-the-pear-gin-2024.html
