Gin Society Members

We sit down with travel-bug Danielle Murnane and Australian women’s wheelchair basketball coach Craig Campbell – both Gin Society members’ to hear all about their love affair with our favourite spirit.

What do you like about gin as a spirit?

There’s a gin for every occasion and every palate. It’s very rare that anyone says they don’t like gin when you offer them one – or maybe that’s just the company we keep!

What attracts you to a gin?

The different flavours that are drawn out by the many botanicals that are different in each gin. You never know what you are going to get.

What does your personal gin collection look like?

Diverse and constantly growing! In addition to our regular top-ups with some of our favourites that the Gin Society has introduced us to (Bobby’s, Audemus Pink Pepper, Brogan’s Way) we like to sample different gins when away from home. Often a bottle or two will make their way into our collection. We recently did a tasting at Bellarine Distillery and a bottle of Teddy & The Fox made its way home with us. That brought our collection up to around 30 different bottles.

Any particular gins you’re enjoying at the moment?

We’ve just discovered Method & Madness from Ireland and it’s quickly becoming a favourite. The flavours from the black lemon and Irish gorse flower mean you don’t even need a garnish – just straight gin and Fever-Tree Indian Tonic with a large ice cube. Perfection!

Do you have a go-to garnish or mixer?

We initially mixed with the cheaper-brand tonics and then tried Fever-Tree and CAPI. They improved the flavour 100%. In summer we always have citrus on hand, and you’ll often find freshly squeezed mandarin or clementine mixed in with a tall G&T.

What are your three desert-island gins?

Bobby’s Schiedam Dry Gin – it was our first Gin Society bottle and got us hooked. We love it garnished with a wedge of orange and cloves, or lime. Plymouth Sloe Gin – super refreshing on a hot summer’s day as a Gin Fizz. Little Juniper from South Australia – we’d keep our fingers crossed that the desert island would have an abundance of mint, limes and ginger beer to mix up some Lil Mules.

If you could travel anywhere in the world to sample gin, where would it be?

With so many places to visit, we’d struggle to say just one, so for us it would have to be a little closer to home. A road trip through regional Victoria to sample Animus (Kyneton), Reed & Co. (Bright), Four Pillars (Healesville) and then finish up at Cappella (Yarra Valley). We love a road trip, so along with our hobby of gin tasting we could also partake in our other hobby of eating and trying out the local produce and restaurants of the region.

What’s your go-to gin-based cocktail?

G&T, for sure. It’s easy, tasty and ready to go in seconds. However, a cocktail that takes a bit more time to create and that we absolutely love is a Bae Watch with Bobby’s Schiedam Dry Gin.

What do you like most about the Gin Society?

We love opening up the package for the surprise that awaits us, and then getting straight into the cocktail suggestions for the month. What started as a birthday present at the beginning of Melbourne’s long COVID lockdowns has turned into a great hobby! 
Bae Watch Recipe (pictured above)
40mL Bobby’s Schiedam Dry Gin
20mL De Kuyper Peachtree Liqueur (if needed, swap out
for Peach Schnapps)
30mL fresh lemon juice
20mL kaffir lime leaf syrup
Combine ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker, shake to combine. Fine-strain and serve straight up in a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with bay leaf.
TIP: To make kaffir lime leaf syrup, add 6 kaffir lime leaves to a sugar syrup mix (1 cup water + 1 cup white sugar). Bring to the boil then remove from heat and let stand for around 4 hours. Remove the leaves and it’s ready to go!