Kings Cross Distillery has recently announced the launch of their flagship Australian made gin KXG Australian Classic Dry Gin and an ultra-chic new bar in the heart of Sydney’s Kings Cross.
Bringing some much-needed life back into the once bright lights of Kings Cross, Kings Cross Distillery will open its doors to the public in time for spring. Launching off the back of the Covid-19 lockdown, this new cocktail haven provides hope for an industry that has faced some immense challenges over the past few months.
Distiller and spirit architect Odelia Potts says: “We’ve created a fabulous menu filled with great cocktails that are perfect to enjoy in spring. The venue’s signature cocktail will be the Aalto Martini, featuring 60ml of the KXG Australian Classic Dry Gin, dry vermouth rinse, and a slice of preserved lemon peel. Another one to try is the ‘Pear of Kings’. The native Australian myrtle notes of the KXG Australian Classic Dry Gin pair perfectly with the cloudy cider and the Poire Williams pear notes coupled with aromatic bay leaves.”
As the new classic gin is inspired by a 1930s recipe, Odelia admits KXD’s gin-based drinks boast ‘flavours of the past’ to pair well with the venue’s and King Cross’ rich history.
Odelia says: “I’ve adapted the KXG Australian Classic Dry Gin from a 1930s recipe which is beautiful in its simplicity of using the staple botanicals that were used in an ideal and perfectly engineered classic London Dry, and making it our own, by adding a delicate touch of Australian myrtles. Gins are becoming more contemporary and complex in their style nowadays, so I do think that the classic nature of this spirit is a testament to the past.”
The Kings Cross Distillery pot-still is affectionately known as “Miss Pottsy” and is located in the heart of the new vibrant venue. The location at Macleay Street, juxtaposed to the famous Kings Cross dandelion-flower inspired fountain, was once a 1960s speakeasy and illegal gambling den, amongst other hidden secrets, which guests will have to go and visit to find out. Upstairs there was the usual, shadowy, pleasures of a by-gone era befitting of the postcode 2011. Later in the 1970s, the venue became an adult book store, which had secret businesses operating behind the hidden doors of steel. It was known as the Private Book Shop and later Ecstasy Adult Bookstore.
The new venue still pays homage to the colourful history it has seen, with the former vault now being used for storing the bar’s most prized possessions, their bottles of gin, as well as a cheeky wall of pin-up photography which nods to the former bookstores which existed there.
Naturally, the bar will serve its own premium gin, vodka and whisky, as well as an array of Australian and international spirits. One of the special features of this venue is the availability of personalised spirit lockers, where guests can keep their own bottles and consume them in any gin concoction of their choice- be that the perfect G+T, or a gin cocktail from the cocktail list of their choosing.
Benjamin Moechtar, General Manager at KXD says: “Gin definitely has a unique personality, aroma, texture and flavour profile, just like wine. Some gins are floral, herbaceous, with citrus and others are spicy. There are full and light bodied versions. Gin can be simple or very complex.
“We’ll be offering guests an array of mezze and tapas style dishes such as bites of baked kibbeh, vine wrapped sardines, and harissa carrots.”
Event enquiries can be made via bookings@kingscrossdistillery.com.au (from Spring, 2020).