Chalmers The Spirit

Chalmers The Spirit
$140 per 500ml, 47% alcohol, screwcap, Heathcote Victoria.

In the words of Chalmers themselves, this is a “white spirit that defies categorisation, a love child of Grappa, Schnapps and Eau de Vie, guided through the process by our assistant winemaker at the time, experienced distiller Megan Hume. The end result is an unadulterated pure expression of (the) Moscato Giallo (grape).”
It’s pretty full on. It smells and tastes of chamomile, which sounds soft and gentle but this is anything but. This is a force of alcohol, scent and flavour, the alcohol kicking like a mule, the mid palate of barley and hay and scorched flowers and spice doing its best in the face of alcohol-fuelled fire. It’s both boundary-pushing and not for the feint-hearted.