KI MapKangaroo Island, South Australia is a popular tourist destination.

Tasting KI - Kangaroo Island Spirits

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Parent Category: South Australia
Category: Kangaroo Island
Created: Thursday, 16 February 2012 05:54

Kangaroo Island Spirits is a boutique distillery located in Cygnet River, 10 minutes west of Kingscote. It is run by Jon & Sarah Lark, a beautiful couple with a passion for their craft.

We drove out to their distillery on the Playford Highway and seeing the Kis logo out front, we were surprised at how quickly we'd come upon it and pulled in. The car-park at the rear of the property is located next to the shed that is the distillery. It is reminiscent of a bootleggers – rust red tin, a small garden with a small unassuming glass door – rustic.

Inside the distillery is small but cosy with the service counter and a couple of tables and chairs. Sarah was behind the counter when we entered and greeted us warmly. The conversation was relaxed and natural, not forced at all like you get at some of the larger cellar doors. The variety of spirits on offer was larger than we thought it would be – 10 items.

Wild Gin, Vodka, Samphire Vodka, Chilli Vodka, Pinklily Strawberry - Strawberry and Vanilla Liqueur, Honey & Walnut Liqueur, Lime and Ginger Liqueur, Limoncello, Zenzirino - Ginger & Orange Liqueur, and Anisette.

All are distilled on site, and as many of the ingredients that can be sourced locally are such as the native Juniper berry (boobialla, Myoporum insulare) , Samphire, Wild Fennel and honey.

Each of these is individually hand-crafted by Jon & Sarah, with obvious passion. The small batch size allows for subtle variation in the final product, meaning that the complexity of flavours shifts. This is the artisan distillers way, and makes for a more delightful product. It is the same as tasting different vintages of a favoured wine, it will still be the wine you enjoy but there will be new inflections and accents to explore.

The tasting begins with the Wild Gin. It is a grape spirit gin, triple basket distilled, and combines native and Italian Juniper. A beautiful and fragrant Gin, smooth on the nose with a sweet almost citrus palate. It is by far one of the best Gin's I've had and is on par if not better, in my opinion, with Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray.

A great opening full of promise for what is to come.

Next up is KIS Vodka. Once again grape spirit and triple distilled but also employing charcoal filtering. It is a crisp and clean vodka that slides across the tongue so easily it would be criminal to add soda or any other flavours to it. Sarah tells me while I drink it that they had a group of Russian tourists pass through and taste the Vodka. Their verdict: Girl's Vodka. I take it that for Russians this Vodka is lighter, fruitier and more fragrant and lacks the bite of traditional Russian Vodkas. All I can say is, that's fine by me.

Sarah starts to tell me about the next drink, Samphire Infused Vodka. They came up with the idea after hearing of other grass infusions being created and thought they would give the local Samphire a go. Samphire is also known as Bearded Glasswort and is fleshy perennial with a high tolerance to saline and waterlogged environments. This Vodka is not very much to my liking, it is on the sour side of my palate with grass and salt coming through. Martini's spring to mind as I sip, and while I enjoy the Martini from a cultural perspective (it adds an extra layer of characterisation to James Bond), it has never been my drink. It is a unique and very interesting flavour and I recommend any spirit aficionados to sample. Who knows, it may become your favourite taste from KIS.

Sarah then offers us a brand new product that they are still developing their marketing for (It's great to hear of a producer completing the product prior to marketing it). This drink is called SLAP. Samphire, Lime, and Pepper vodka. The nose is not dissimilar to to the strait Samphire with a hint of citrus, but when that cool liquid strikes the tongue, flavour explodes. It is complex and tangy, the lime screaming it's presence, the grass of the Samphire becomes a welcome accompanier, and in the background is a bass-line laid down by pepper, perfectly balanced. It is enjoyable on say many tiers of taste and very satisfying. The after-taste is similar to an excellent Margarita mixed with an impeccable tequila. I would have gladly bought a bottle were it available.

Jon takes over our tasting as Sarah has a few errands to run, and they don't miss a beat, picking up the conversation readily.

KIS Lime & Ginger Liqueur is next up with zesty lime riding high and the ginger taking the low. An Excellent blend of flavour with both easily distinguishable, which I find a rare treat in liqueurs.

Limoncello starts with a fragrant lemon nose and fills the mouth with a robust bitter lemon, curling the tongue slightly.

The Zenzorino is beautiful. The nose is light, distracting you from the sharp ginger that flows across the tongue, and the orange vaporously filling the senses.

KIS Honey & Walnut is thick and heavy, almost gelatinous with the walnut following through and softening the palate.

When we come to the Anisette, I am quite hesitant. I do not enjoy Sambuca or liquorice and so with a pinch of salt I sip. It was surprisingly light on the aniseed and the KI Wild Fennel adds a distinct sour that overrides the Star Anise so that your mouth isn't left with a cloying taste.

Pinklily Strawberry, was very light and not at all sweet. I think the vanilla was a bit too heavy over the strawberry and as such came up lacking slightly.

To finish off, is the Chilli Vodka. I'm a big fan of chilli in Vodka having experimented with it in the early 90's and was quite looking forward to this. Would be a fire burning in the depths, or the graceful pepper that chilli can be when given the light touch. It was the latter. The chilli is fragrant, then it explodes across your mouth and is gone before you can feel the light burn.

Jon gives it a try and remarks on how light the Chilli is. It's part of the variation from small distilling and is dependant on the chilli that's in the bottle.

My experience with Kangaroo Island Spirits is one of the best I've had at a tasting. It is always a pleasure to spend time who are passionate about their craft as well as being good at it. While not all the flavours were to my taste, I can not fault the products themselves. With all tastings, every palate is different, and our experiences with other tastes of the same variety always colour our perceptions, but should never diminish the enjoyment of tasting something new.
I heartily recommend that anyone visiting Kangaroo Island take the time to drop by Cygnet River and visit with Jon and Sarah Lark. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Kangaroo Island Introduction

Details
Parent Category: South Australia
Category: Kangaroo Island
Created: Thursday, 16 February 2012 05:52

The island has approximately 4500 inhabitants and is 155 kilometres East to West, and is surprisingly diverse. It contains a few wilderness protections areas, conservation parks, National parks, Grazing & Farm Land, forests, scrubs, and wetlands. It is claimed that over half the island is old growth, and it shows. KI, if nothing else, is a beautiful natural environ to explore. Over the last decade KI has shifted from agriculture to tourism as the primary industry, re-authoring itself to the changing tastes of the world.

The island is divided into 7 regions to explore, 6 coastal and 1 inland, each offering various levels and densities of accommodation – Camping, hotels, holiday homes, restored colonial cottages. There is somewhere for everyone and every budget.

There are two ways to get to KI, which as the crow flies it is 130 odd kilometres from Adelaide. – by plane or by car.

When it comes to planning your holiday to KI, it is good to plan ahead and there are a number of useful publications to get:

South Australia, Kangaroo Island Visitor Guide (part of a collection of publications by the SA Government that give a general overview of the different regions, food and accommodation options, tourist activities and a map) available for download from www.southaustralia.com and www.tourkangarooisland.com.au

Parks of Kangaroo Island (Published by the Department of Environment and Heritage), this book offers information about each of the parks and conservation areas available on the island and their facilities, as well as details of the bushwalks/hiking available. 26 walks are listed in the book and they vary in difficulty from easy (9) to hard (3) covering over 100 kilometres of track. Available for download from www.environment.sa.gov.au

Kangaroo Island's Parks from www.parks.sa.gov.au gives you the contact details for a number of parks and their opening hours along with tours offered and their prices.

From these publications and their respective websites you can start to build your trip to KI. A good thing to note though, is that while Kangaroo Island is not large, it does take a bit of time to get anywhere – from 20 minutes to 2½ hours. So, if you really want to enjoy what the island has to offer you need a few days.

For this trip, we are here to relax and enjoy Kangaroo Island and have planned only a few activities.

Snake Lagoon Hike & Weirs Cove Hike in Flinders Chase National Park

Adventure Caving at Kelly Hill Caves

Tasting the local produce of the island

The walks we have chosen because of another publication we came across in 2010. The Trails SA 40 Great South Australian Short Walks. We have used this book as an excuse to travel to regions of South Australia and look at parts we might not have seen before. The booklet is filled with small walks that are often part of more extensive ones, which we might not have come across otherwise.

Adventure Caving is chosen because it is not a very common activity in South Australia, with the Naracoorte Caves the only one's we were familiar with.

Tasting local produce has become a large part of what we do when we travel. South Australia is developing some very remarkable boutique foods and drinks. Cellar Doors and Farm Gates give a great opportunity to speak with the locals and producers of these products. You will be surprised by some of what you find in any of the regions you travel to in South Australia.

I cannot recommend enough how important it is to have an itinerary when visiting a place like Kangaroo Island. Everything takes time to get to, and without at least a small amount of planning, you will end up spending most of your time travelling back and forward rather than enjoying what the Island has to offer.

The day starts early, 6am. A quick breakfast and final double check of packed supplies. The care is loaded with most of what we'll need for anything we do on the island.. We have booked the 9am ferry from from Cape Jervis, located a two hour drive south of Adelaide. We hit South Road and keep on going. The general rule is, follow the road until it hits water. We make good time, the traffic flowing smoothly and the lights going our way until we get to Bedford Park where the timing of the traffic lights goes out of flow into the stop start that people complain about in Adelaide so much. Through the South traffic thickens and the road changes from two to three lanes then back to two on different sides of a set of lights. Past Noarlunga the drive becomes beautiful, the Adelaide hills lit brightly from breaks in the pearly clouds. The Adelaide hills are dry, coloured straw to red, with scatterings of green/grey trees and vineyards. The sea, off to our right, seems calm with deep hues of blue accentuated by pencil thin lines of wave white wash rolling towards shore. Past Aldinga, South road weaves inland slightly so we lose view of the ocean, replaced by tree topped hills, down through Myponga and past its tree lined reservoir, across Wattle Flat and into Yankalilla. We stop at the Yankalilla bakery for some breakfast before the road heads westward once more to Normanville and the ocean. From Normanville the road winds through step seaside hills and valleys to Cape Jervis.

We don't see anything of Cape Jervis as we follow the road into the Sealink Ferry terminal. The sealing ferry is both a passenger and transport ferry, capable of carrying upwards of 300 people and around 50 vehicles. It is the major transport between the mainland and the island. The Sealink is very comfortable with plenty of seating and a small Cafe. This morning it wasn't anywhere near full, with a few dozen tourists, locals returning to the island, and people coming across for the KI races taking place this weekend.

The Ferry cost varies depending on the time of day and the season. For two people with car, return, your are looking between $250 and $400.

The ferry takes around 45 minutes to cross the Backstairs passage to Penneshaw and today it's a smooth trip, with a relatively calm and flat sea. The Weather defines the length of the trip and Backstairs passage has been known to get very rough, being one of the most dangerous stretches of water in Australia. I know from the last time I travelled here what its like in choppy waters when it took over an hour to reach Penneshaw, so I'm pleased that today it is calm. We eat our breakfast and watch the receding mainland and approaching island and a short DVD of South Australia from the air, go up on deck and take a few photos in the wondrous cool morning.

The ferry ride is over quite quickly. The drivers are called to their vehicles and the rest of us make our way to the exit. It's quit an exodus as at the end of the jetty the passengers bottleneck, trying to find their hire car or tour company or pick up, while others try to find the best vantage spot to get their ride when it exits the ferry.

We are off to Kingscote, where we are staying at a friend's place. The drive to Kingscote is 58 kilometres and it is suggested that you allow 45 minutes for it. It starts Southwest along the coast with beautiful views for the first 20 minutes until you turn Northwest and cut inland from American River toward Western Cove. It is a nice drive and you can't help but marvel at the quality of the asphalt.

We arrive at our accommodation and set up for our weekend on the Island.

The final itinerary is:

Day 1 - Drive to Ferry, Drive to Kingscote, Settle in, buy any other supplies, Tasting KI - Kangaroo Island Spirits

Day 2 – Hiking – Rocky River w Platypus Waterholes, Weirs Cove, Snake Lagoon

Day 3 – Caving at Kelly Hill, KI Races Street Party

Day 4 – Eucalyptus Distillery, Clifford's Honey, Emu Bay Lavender Farm, Bay of Shoals, Island Beehive, Island Pure Dairy

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