$25 to $50
White Possum Naked Coffee
Kina
Kina, White Possum's take on a quinquina, is a bittersweet wine based liqueur designed to be served chilled as an aperitif or mixed in a number of classic cocktails. Thisrefreshing liqueur starts its life as a small batch Sauvignon Blanc made inan independent winery in Mount Macedon, VIC. As soon as the wineis delivered, the team fortifies it with a combination of sugar cane spirit and distilled wine. The fortified wine is then infusedwith fresh local orange peels, cinnamon myrtle, strawberry gum and a handful of earthy herbs. The now naked oranges aren't wasted - the team eat a few and give away the rest to a local cafemanager who presses them into fresh orange juice. White Possum uses natural ingredients throughout and deliberately avoids filtering the liqueurto ensure no flavour is filtered out, so you may notice some sediment and oils that may drift out of the liqueur over time. Simply give your bottle a quick shake to re-dissolve the oils once more.
Scarletta
White Possum Scarletta is a bitter citrus amaro modelled on the classic Italian-made Campari. Made using homegrown and foraged lemon myrtle, as well as a blend of various citrus peels and bitter roots, Scarletta is seriously aromatic and bracingly bitter. It's designed specifically for constructing a Negronis or Spritz, whilst also suitable for the bold drinker who prefers their bitterness served on nothing but ice and a lemon twist. To make this clean yet complex amaro, the team peels several varieties of locally grown oranges and lemons. The peels are infused and distilled alongside leaves picked from their very own lemon myrtle tree which was planted soon after the distillery was founded in 2014. To these citrus botanicals the team adds a smorgasbord of infused and distilled bitter herbs and spices, most notably gentian root, which form the bitter backbone of the drink. The whole process takes a couple of months before a balanced flavour profile appears, at which point liqueur is siphoned from the top of the vat. A few drops of red food dye are used to turn the liquid from orange to red before bottling. White Possum deliberately avoids filtering the liqueur to ensure no flavour is filtered out, so you may notice some sediment and oils that may drift out of the liqueur over time. Simply give your bottle a quick shake and all will be normal again!
White Possum Naked Amaretto
The folks at White Possum have been big fans of Amaretto and its marzipan flavour for as long as they can remember. But it was a shame not to be able to buy an Australian made Amaretto, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and make one. This is a stripped down version of the classic Italian Amaretto, but with an Australian twist. To make it, the team smashes apart Australian grown bitter almonds (a by-product of the apricot industry), cooks and infuses them in a clean sugarcane spirit for weeks. This is where they get that big bold marzipan flavour that Amaretto lovers will recognise immediately. They then add a pinch of wild Strawberry Gum leaves, harvested from outback NSW, which adds an extra floral boost. On the nose, you'll detect thick marzipan notes but also a smattering of floral and herbal aromas, thanks in part to the addition of Strawberry Gum. A quick swirl opens it up further. On the palate, you'll be greeted with an explosion of marzipan flavour thanks to a generous infusion of bitter almonds. It's thick, decadent and syrup-like with plenty of sweetness but not 'visit the dentist' sweet. On the finish, you'll experience a long drawn-out ending with brown sugar playing a key role in the length. Its flavours will dance around on your tongue like a house party into the wee hours of the morning. All of White Possum's liqueurs, including Naked Amaretto, are bottled exclusively in recycled glass spirit bottles. Between the lovely network of bars who help collect empty spirit bottles for them and the empty bottles that get spat out of their own 'tasting flight production line', they've managed to build up a locally sustainable supply of bottles. These bottles are given a "rough massage" to strip the labels off, then a hardcore hot rinse and a final polish up before being revived with a new liqueur filled life.