8 December 2022
An evening of specials on all stocking fillers, schnapps, gin and vodka from 4pm till 6pm. Get a free Cocktail or Mocktail on arrival – or if it snows a glass of Gluhwein (like the authentic Kristkindl Market) and Bruno is playing the squeeze box.
You’ve likely enjoyed a Bellini before. Maybe you swapped out a mimosa for one over brunch or enjoyed a few as a summertime aperitif.
But, do you know the history of this near century-old drink?
Sometime between 1934 and 1948, a Venetian Bar owner named Giuseppe Cipriani created the Bellini cocktail – a bubbly peach drink that would be celebrated for decades to come.
Originally, the Bellini cocktail was made with prosecco and peach puree or peach nectar. It’s a combination that creates a stunning pink hue.
The drink’s colour reminded Cipriani of a pink toga worn by a saint in one of Giovanni Bellini’s famous paintings. That same saintly pink colour was used often by the 15th Century artist to paint everything from togas of saints to garments worn by the virgin Mary.
The name ‘Bellini’ feels like an obvious choice for a heavenly cocktail.
In recent years the peach nectar or puree has been swapped out for quality peach schnapps. And whilst the Bellini has lost its notable pink hue, it has only improved in taste!
Wildbrumby peach schnapps is made from peaches grown in the Australian Southern Alps and has received multiple gold awards for keeping true to that delicious, real peach taste. There is no wonder it’s the perfect addition to a cocktail of divine proportions.
How to perfect the Bellini:
Ingredients:
wildbrumby peach schnapps
wildbrumby brut
One peach (preferably a white peach)
Method:
We begin with the garnish. I know what you’re thinking. ‘But aren’t garnishes supposed to add a bit of decoration at the END of a cocktail?’
Well, this drink is a little different.
The Bellini cocktail is all about showcasing that fresh peach flavour and the garnish is no exception. First, take a fresh peach and slice out a thin wedge. Keeping the skin on for texture, place the peach wedge into a chilled champagne flute.
If you can get your hands on them, use a white peach. They stay sweeter for longer and add a bit of flair to your glass.
Now, it’s time to add your cocktail ingredients to the champagne flute. For one serving you will need 20mL of wildbrumby Peach Schnapps and 130mL of wildbrumby Brut.
After garnishing your chilled champagne flute with a fresh slice of peach add 20mL of wildbrumby Peach Schnapps. Then, angle the champagne flute on a 45-degree angle and slowly fill the glass with wildbrumby Brut.
Make sure to keep the lip of your wildbrumby Brut bottle close to the champagne flute and straighten the glass as it fills. This will help control bubbles and the brut and schnapps will mix evenly.
Ta da! Your bubbly peach treat is ready to be served.
Why use wildbrumby Brut?
Cipriani’s original Bellini cocktail recipe called for Prosecco. So why do we use wildbrumby Brut?
Well, Brut is actually a type of Prosecco.
It is dryer and less sweet than other types of prosecco or sparkling wine. This makes it the perfect choice in bubbles for the Bellini cocktail for two reasons. Brut doesn’t overpower the drink with sweetness.
Most importantly, the real peach notes that our wildbrumby Peach Schnapps is loved for will remain centre stage till the very last drop.
Get your hands on the wildbrumby Bellini Pack here and put your Bellini creating expertise to use!
While we like to think of our pure Snowy Mountains gin a hero of the winter months, we know that many gin aficionados are equally enthusiastic about serving gin cocktails to bookend more summery pursuits.
So we’ve asked our wildbrumby team to nominate their favourite year-round gin tipples so we can bring you the cream of the crop for creating at home regardless of the prevailing weather patterns.
But first, as a bit of backstory, here at wildbrumby, we’ve been distilling spirits for almost two decades.
From our London-style classic gin to our raspberry-infused rubus patch, we think we’ve got every season of the year pretty much covered. And for those after a higher ABV navy-style gin, we’re told our Stallion is quite the standout. (Find out more about our award-winning gin trio here).
Of course, we owe much of our success to the pristine Snowy Mountains water with its unique mineral trace elements and the native botanicals such as mountain pepper berry that grow wild in the Snowies, essential to creating our uniquely alpine distillations.
So scroll down to discover our pick of gin cocktail recipes for your year-round enjoyment.
Wildbrumby Negroni
This is a deliciously warming alpine twist on the classic Italian cocktail, which has its origins in early 20th-century Italy.
You can buy negroni ready-made from our online shop or create your own by blending our award-winning classic gin with our seasonal baked apple schnapps and then adding a dash of homemade Italian bitters. This spicy winter aperitif is ready to drink on ice and best served with a slice of orange to garnish.
Ingredients:
Baked Apple Schnapps
wildbrumby gin
Bitters
Orange slice
Method: Blend Baked Apple Schnapps with your favourite gin (to taste), add a dash of bitters, and serve in a lowball glass with ice and a slice of orange to garnish.
See our distiller’s blog here for more wintery recipes
Alpine Vesper
Ian Fleming didn’t do us any favours when he decided James Bond would take his dry martini shaken, not stirred — given that most martinis are best when stirred, not shaken!
But if you consider the Vesper recipe we associate with Bond (3 parts gin, 1 part vodka and 1/2 part Kina Lillet) then it is understandable given that shaking a drink breaks the ice into smaller pieces, watering down his rather potent mix. Here is our own twist on this much-loved martini.
Ingredients:
30ml Classic Gin
30ml Kosciusko Vodka
30ml Apricot Schnapps
Method:
Add gin, vodka and schnapps to an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until cold, double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with an orange twist.
(Courtesy of Philip Jones aka The Martini Whisperer)
See our distiller’s blog here for more martini secrets
Rubus, Limoncello & Tonic
A celebration of spring time, this cocktail is pink, pretty and a little bit tart.
Our rubus patch gin is made using organic raspberries picked straight from our distillery gardens and makes a brilliant G&T combo with our wildbrumby limoncello. And it looks delectable too!
Ingredients:
20mL wildbrumby limoncello
30mL wildbrumby rubus patch gin
tonic
lemon
raspberries
Method:
Firstly, pack a wide, stemless glass to the brim with lemon wheels, whole raspberries and ice. Pour our rubus patch gin and wildbrumby limoncello into your glass and top with tonic water. We suggest fever tree’s refreshingly light tonic water.
Serve your Rubus, Limoncello & Tonic with a vibrant paper straw and an extravagant cheese platter.
See our rubus gin blog here for more ways to enjoy pink gin.
Sour Apple Mojito
Refreshing, sweet and a little bit tart, you’ll never want to make a mojito any other way again!
This summery combination of our sour apple schnapps and classic gin brings a beautiful floral element to the drink.
It’s also a great recipe to batch and serve at parties or an afternoon barbecue. Simply multiply your ingredients by six and build the drink in a pitcher. Now all your friends have to do is pour.
Ingredients:
30mL wildbrumby classic gin
30mL wildbrumby sour apple schnapps
mint
lime
ginger ale
granny smith apple
Method:
Muddle two lime wedges and four mint leaves in a tall glass before adding our sour apple schnapps and classic gin. Fill the glass with ice and place one thinly sliced half-moon of apple and a sprig of mint down the inside of the glass. Top with ginger ale.
You can purchase our range of wildbrumby spirits from our online shop
Every year as the weather warms, rosy peaches and golden apricots deliver their glorious harvest. They’re delectable in desserts and (in our opinion) even better to drink!
These fruit varieties have also been popular with Austrian distillers since the very beginning of schnapps creation, so it is no wonder they continue to delight.
As the name suggests, stone fruit are harvested fruits with a stone-like seed encased in juicy flesh and soft skin.
Apricots are king in Austria’s patisserie world. With treats like ‘sachertorte’ (a decadent chocolate cake filled with apricot jam) and powdered apricot dumplings gracing dinner tables across the Alps of Tyrol.
Our apricot schnapps brings a slice of that perfection to the Australian Snowies. This dessert style schnapps reveals hints of almond and marzipan, lending a beautiful mouthfeel and fragrant nose.
A harvest of blushing-orange, rival apricots picked fresh from the orchard are the key ingredient to our apricot schnapps, while our award-winning peach nectar schnapps is created from the juiciest peaches the Australian Southern Alps has to offer with a distinctive flavour and silky-smooth finish reminiscent of warm peach cobblers.
Both our apricot and peach nectar schnapps can be enjoyed neat, over ice, or poured on ice-cream for a sweet, spring dessert. But if your bar shakers are itching for some creativity – we’ve got some perfect, stone fruit inspired cocktails for you to try at home.
Bellini
If you’re a fan of our peach nectar schnapps you’re probably familiar with our twist on the perfect bellini cocktail. It’s a two-step, wildbrumby classic. The name ‘Bellini’ feels like an obvious choice for a heavenly cocktail.
In recent years the peach nectar or puree has been swapped out for quality peach schnapps. And whilst the Bellini has lost its notable pink hue, it has only improved in taste!
Ingredients:
20mL wildbrumby peach schnapps
130mL of wildbrumby Brut
One peach (preferably a white peach)
Method:
Take a fresh peach and slice out a thin wedge, keeping the skin on. Garnish your chilled champagne flute with the peach slice then add wildbrumby Peach Schnapps. Angle the champagne flute on a 45-degree angle and slowly fill the glass with wildbrumby Brut.
Make sure to keep the lip of your wildbrumby Brut bottle close to the champagne flute and straighten the glass as it fills. This will help control bubbles and the brut and schnapps will mix evenly. Ta da! Your bubbly peach treat is ready to be served.
Find out more about crafting the perfect Bellini here.
Peachy Tea
Incorporating the vibrant flavours of juicy peach and floral earl grey tea, this is an easy-to-make cocktail you’ll want to impress your friends with.
Plus, it’s perfect to batch for sunny picnic parties and big dinner get-togethers. You’ll never want an iced tea served any other way.
Ingredients:
45mL wildbrumby peach nectar schnapps
Peaches in Syrup (15mL syrup, 2 peach slices)
130mL Iced English Breakfast Tea
Method:
Prepare your iced tea by brewing 60mL of English Breakfast tea. Transfer the teabag and tea into a container and add 70mL of cool water. Place in fridge for 5 minutes or till thoroughly mixed and chilled. Then discard the teabag.
Build your cocktail by adding wildbrumby peach nectar schnapps, peach syrup, and iced tea to a tall, ice filled glass. Mix with a bar spoon and garnish with 2 slices of peach.
Batching your Peachy Tea? Add 180mL of wildbrumby peach nectar schnapps, 60mL peach syrup, and 520 mL of iced tea to a large jug. Add ice and peach slices. Store in the fridge till you’re ready to enjoy!
You can find our wildbrumby peach nectar here.
Apricot Collins
A Collins cocktail generally comprises a combination of gin, lemon juice and fizzy water all served up in a tall Collins glass over ice. Here, we’ve added a summery layer to the traditional Collins trio with the addition of our delectable apricot schnapps.
Ingredients:
30 mL wildbrumby apricot schnapps
30 mL wildbrumby classic gin
15 mL Lemon Juice
Soda Water
Maraschino Cherry and Apricot to garnish
Method:
Pull out those bar shakers – it’s shaking time!
Add all ingredients to your ice filled bar shaker (excluding your soda water and garnishes). Once these ingredients have been fully incorporated and chilled, strain the contents into a tall, ice filled glass. You’ll know your shaker is ready when frost has formed on the outside of the tin.
Now all you need to do is top your cocktail with soda water, and garnish with a slice of apricot and maraschino cherry!
You can find our wildbrumby apricot schnapps here.
Alpine Vesper
The Vesper Martini is the famous tipple we associate with James Bond. The classic recipe is 3 parts gin, 1 part vodka and 1/2 part Kina Lillet. And of course – unlike most other martinis, it is shaken, not stirred.
We’ve created our very own wildbrumby twist on this much-loved martini with our magnificent apricot schnapps stepping up in the starring role.
Ingredients:
30ml Classic Gin
30ml Kosciusko Vodka
30ml Apricot Schnapps
Method:
Add gin, vodka and schnapps to an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until cold, double strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with an orange twist.
(Courtesy of Philip Jones aka The Martini Whisperer)
See our distiller’s blog here for more martini secrets
2 October 2022
Wildbrumby will be putting the Oom-pah into Oktoberfest over the long weekend with the foot-stomping Cooma District band playing on Sunday 2nd of October from noon until 4pm.
Austrian and German beer will be flowing, with schnapps aplenty, so grab your lederhosen or dirndl and join us for a slapping great time!
