When it came time for Kylie Sepsos to name her distillery, there was only one choice. “I’m the farmer’s wife,” she says with a laugh. “I feel like I should curtsey when I say that.”
Kylie and her husband, Gavin Sepos, are both third-generation farmers in the Hunter Valley, raising free-range chickens and beef cattle. But she also spent two decades working in bar and restaurant marketing before starting the distillery. During a visit to Tasmania, she was struck by the intimate scale of the distilleries there. It led her to thinking she’d have a go at her long-time dream of making something by hand.
“I’m inspired by my love of gardening and cooking,” Kylie says. “There’s nothing I love more than growing something and then using that to create something you can share with people. I love cocktails as well, so distilling really combines all of my passions.”
Enter Farmer’s Wife and its flagship Autumn Dry Gin, which owner and distiller Kylie proudly showcases in this classic G&T recipe. The other main player is Fever-Tree Light Premium Indian Tonic Water, which marries fruit sugars and botanical flavours with fresh spring water and tonic’s trademark quinine for a crisp, lower-calorie tonic water.
“Our Autumn Dry Gin is quite botanical, so there’s a lot of flavour in there,” says Kylie. “It’s also a 48 per cent spirit, primarily to hold the volume of oils that we use. So that light tonic elevates the spirit and allows all those beautiful botanicals to come out in the drink. Such a simple recipe is designed to let those flavours shine through.”
Farmer’s Wife opened its new distillery door and restaurant almost two years ago, where it hosts music, tastings and events. The venue is part of Fever-Tree’s Perfect Serve program, which looks to elevate the G&T and help customers find their perfect ratio. That’s why every Perfect Serve G&T comes with a bottle of Fever-Tree tonic on the side, so you can build it precisely to your liking.
Kylie has handcrafted a quartet of gins themed around the seasons, but her Autumn Dry Gin remains the most awarded. She even uses it as a base to create the Summer Spritz, Warm Winter and Sweet Spring gins. While she didn’t set out to follow a seasonal pattern, her breakthrough spirit simply screamed autumn.
“I was just trying to create the perfect gin for me,” she says. “I really love full-bodied and full-flavoured spirits that have a beautiful length to them. The autumn gin has ruby grapefruit and native sage that’s very reminiscent of a eucalypt forest floor, so it speaks to where we’re from. We also use sugarbag honey from native Australian bees, which creates that length. It really reminded me of a warm autumn day on the farm – just those beautiful amber notes of honey and grapefruit.”
Those honey notes can change subtly, depending on what the bees have been foraging on in the bush. Meanwhile, the addition of a lemon wheel brings a delicate sourness to the cocktail, and the herbal, peppery rosemary sprig brings out both the honey and the sage in the Autumn Dry Gin.
“I’ve paired our Autumn Dry Gin with the Fever-Tree Light Tonic, which I love because it just has the perfect amount of sweetness, bitterness and dryness,” says Kylie. “It really allows the gin to shine. I think the autumn gin works best in a classic gin and tonic, but it also pairs beautifully with Fever-Tree’s Premium Ginger Beer, Pink Grapefruit Soda and Lime & Yuzu Soda.”
And, despite its name, the autumn gin can be enjoyed at any time of year. “The autumn element is more about the flavours it creates,” Kylie says. “It’s a very versatile gin for spring and summer.”
Farmer’s Wife Classic G&T
Makes 1 serving. Approx. 1.22 standard drinks.
Ingredients:
45ml Farmer’s Wife Autumn Dry Gin
120ml Fever-Tree Light Premium Indian Tonic Water
Sprig of rosemary
Lemon wheel
Method:
Have your glass and tonic nice and cold. Add the ice and gin to your favourite rocks glass and top with your perfect serve of tonic. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a lemon wheel.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Fever-Tree. The Perfect Serve is available at Henry G’s and Martinez in Sydney; The Farmer’s Wife in Allworth, NSW; and Beverly, Jackalope and Caffe e Cucina in Victoria. Order a drink from the Fever-Tree Perfect Serve menu and your tonic will be served on the side to create your perfect ratio.
