What to do this weekend?

What's on this weekend?

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What is there to do this weekend?

Like most people, I am excited about catching up with friends & family this weekend now Covid-19 restrictions have been eased. Spending time with my peeps is one of my favourite things to do. Usually when I catch up with my loved ones, we go to Fossey’s Distillery where it’s nice and quiet but friendly & welcoming, at the same time. The ambience is great! The music not too loud you can’t hear one another talking. It’s the perfect place to sit down & solve the problems of the world together. Well at least have a long-winded discussion about it, trying.

My sister and I both have a child free weekend coming up. The first together since Covid-19 put us into lockdown and usually we would catch up at Fossey’s for a few hours on a Friday night having some prawns for dinner, sharing a cheese platter and laughing, over a few gins…well alright…maybe 5 or 7, but who’s counting, right? I really miss being able to walk in there, feeling like I am at home (except I don’t have to make my own drinks or clean up) and sitting in the beautiful surrounds of the gin garden or inside curled up on one of the comfy couches.

But this weekend coming we can’t go out. Nothing’s open to dress up & go out to. No going out for dinner or anything like that. We have a free weekend but for the first time in what feels like forever, we can’t do any of the things we normally do. So, what is there to do when catching up with friends & family this weekend then?

Well, we decided to bring Fossey’s to our lounge room.  Oh yes, we are aware it won’t be the same without Nathan or Tash making their gin-mazing creations for us with the gin-credibe garnishes and love they put into them and our lounge room resembles nothing of the gorgeous Fossey’s Distillery, but for now it will have to do.

My sister’s favourite gin is Old Man Saltbush with soda water (she’s calorie conscious) and mine generally is Broken Heel (pink gin) with light Fever Tree Tonic Water (I am calorie conscious too, but much prefer G&T over gin & soda water). I also love the colour the elixir goes when mixed with the Fever Tree. So, we decided on Saturday night we will do our best to re-create a night at the Distillery by grabbing a bottle of our Fossey’s fav’s, make sure the heater is on, put on some chilled music, knock back a few (or 10) tipples together whilst having a lot of laughs at the same time.

We know it won’t be the same but, hey, it’s the best we can do right now! Having lockdown restrictions lifted in Victoria means that can spend that precious time together even if it does look different to what we would normally do and that is definitely something to be celebrated.

Given it is World Whisky Day on Saturday, maybe your preference for drinks will be the best whisky in Australia and of course, I mean Fossey’s. I am usually not much of a whisky drinker but am looking forward to having a Fossey’s whisky on the rocks because I can see the appeal in it being warming, soothing & something nice to share in front of a fireplace, sitting together, catching up on anything and everything.  Plus being the outgoing soul I am & blogger for Fossey’s I can’t let World Whisky Day pass without giving it a shot!

Wherever you are, have a fabulous weekend & if you are in Victoria, I am sure it will be a wonderful time of re-connecting with family & friends, with lots of hugs & laughter.

On a personal note, I know I won’t take spending time with my loved ones for granted again, after knowing what it feels like to have that freedom restricted (albeit for our own good).

Until next time, friends. Chin chin & bottoms up!

Fossey’s Gin-Spired Blogger Girl

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Rose Petal Gin – The Tantalising Tale of the Best Seller

Rose Petal Gin - The Tantalising Tale of the best seller!

Rose Petal Gin - The tantalising tale of the best seller

THE BACK STORY BEHIND ROSE PETAL GIN

Since starting as the Gin-spired Blogger Girl at Fossey’s, I have learned we are more of a solution based business rather than allowing obstacles to get in the way type business. In the midst of having to temporarily close our beloved Ginporium because of COVID-19 restrictions, we not only created a completely brand new product, Fossey’s Sanitiser, to meet the shortage of it in the community (which took a lot of fast & hard work) but we also launched our annual Rose Petal Gin in time for Mother’s Day! Talk about having an impressive ability to pivot business as needed!

I have to admit, when I heard of a gin called Rose Petal….well I wasn’t that excited. I didn’t really believe that rose petals could taste any good because if they did, wouldn’t we all be eating them as we strolled past rose bushes, right? I mean, they are not exactly known as one of our staple food items! But I trust the gin-credibly talented creator, Tash & once I tasted the gorgeous elixir, I was gin-uinely impressed!

Today, I just had to share the extremely ginspiring tale how Rose Petal gin came about. As legend has it, it had been Tash’s dream to make a rose petal gin. However, the cost of the roses made the gin not very…shall we say, cost efficient? So our head distiller kinda hit the idea on the head. But thankfully Tash wouldn’t let her dream die and our manager believed there had to be a way to make the beautiful concept come to life. So she backed Tash and sourced the divine petals from Simply Rose Petals, working out a deal that would suit both businesses (no easy feat) and make the gin, not only amazing, but also financially doable! 

The process of getting the rose petals isn’t so easy. They are picked by moonlight and then it is crucial they are delivered in a very timely & precise manner, so as the petals don’t spoil. Then the rose petals are soaked in our gin to give the elixir the gorgeous colour and flavour it does. I was absolutely blown away when I realised how much effort and work went into each batch of this very special drop. I have to say I certainly looked at it with fresh eyes when I realised the process it went through. Knowing the process, turned Rose Petal Gin into some type of heavenly creation for me! 

I enjoyed Rose Petal Gin so much, that it even knocked off my favourite, Broken Heel, from its perch but I won’t go as far as to say it overtook Hot Cross Bun! However, it does come a very close second, when added with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water. The colour it turns is just divine….it’s almost gin-describable actually. 

However, gin-terestingly, add the Rose Petal Gin to soda water for the calorie conscious among us (y’all probably know fitting into my jeans is important to me by now) and it doesn’t come up the beautiful pink/red hues it does with aforementioned tonic water. Oh, for those of you that are interested Fever Tree does make a low sugar version & this solved my problem of compromising colour for calories using soda water – happy days for my jeans!

Rose Petal Gin, as our annual limited edition, sold out in 5 hours in our pre-sale to our treasured Friend’s of Fossey’s members. Even we were a little surprised at how fast it sold! 

I will sign off here but I before I do, a little teaser, watch this space for some super exciting & absolutely ginnovating news about to hit Fossey’s! 

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Narelle

Fossey’s Gin-spired Blogger Girl

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Product in the Spotlight – Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir

Tasting paddle at Fossey's Gin
Tasting paddle at Fossey's Gin
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Product in the spotlight -
Fossey's Original gin Elixir

Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir

As the Fossey’s chief Ginspired Blogger Girl, I thought it may be time I told you a little bit about me &  the very ginsational Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir!

You may have read in a previous blog that I had been a vodka & soda girl for quite some time after deciding that beer wasn’t exactly most people’s idea of classy and although wine definitely was an improvement, it also wasn’t so great for my waistline either. So vodka and soda became my drink of choice for any sort of socialising or Friday night unwinding. 

I joined the Fossy’s team in February & part of my job was to get to know the different fabulous gin creations that are part of our collection. So I set about trying each one of them. After all, I have to believe in what I am promoting and how could I promote Fossey’s if I didn’t even know what was so special about this particular gin, right? 

I will confess it really didn’t take a lot of arm twisting for me to become a fully blown gin-vert & be singing Fossey’s praises whenever the ginnoccasion called for it…oh alright…even when it didn’t. And although, I was late to the party with understanding & appreciating the ginnovations that had taken place in the white spirits world, I am proud to say Fossey’s is now my drink of choice. 

Of course, when I started making my way through the different array of unique Fossey’s creations, I started with the Original Fossey’s Gin Elixir mixed with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic water & ice with a slice of lime & orange as a garnish. From the very first sip I knew I had found a new drink of choice & suddenly understood why there are so many ginnoseurs in the world. 

Fossey’s really is made from the heart. It’s a family owned & boutique distillery who put a gincredible amount of love & effort into everyone of their creations. They use the finest ingredients & personally I believe this is the reason I don’t suffer from a hang over the day after gindulging just a little too much the night before. 

After researching just a little bit more why Fossey’s Gin is such a high end & premium product, I gincovered that at the heart of every Gin, is a Juniper Berry & Fossey’s have scoured the world to bring you the absolute best product for their exquisite elixir. After an extensive journey, the uniquely crisp flavour of freshly foraged Juniper Berries which are the dominant flavour of our Gin Elixir, are proudly supplied to Fossey’s from around the Ludlow area in the UK, which by happenstance is where Fossey’s family originated from! (Like WOW! That actually blew my mind that the juniper berries that go into a Mildura made gin are sourced from the UK!)

Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir is truly a defined Australian Gin, replacing traditional ingredients with our glorious Australian grown Lemon Myrtle and Pepperberry, Lavender and Cassia, just to name a few. 

Fossey’s ginnovators also expertly blended a perfectly & carefully selected Mildura grown citrus bringing 130 years of dedication and tenderness growing citrus into each bottle to make something that is truly unique and special.  

Whoa! So after learning all of that, I realised that every drop of Fossey’s Original Gin Elixir was extra special & understood there is not much else on the market (if anything) that could come close to being in the same class as this extraordinary tipple! 

If you haven’t already joined our Friend of Fossey’s club which is our gin-loyalty program that gives our members, exclusive & very special offers, then I highly recommend you do so…hint hint…this fabulous drop has $10 off right now for our FOF members! 

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

PS I have got to confess having my Fossey’s G&T nightly whilst being in isolation with children has certainly made things more bearable. 

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Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

January 17, 2023 No Comments

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW

3 WAYS TO SUPPORT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES

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3 ways to support local small businesses

What can we do to help our community and particularly local small businesses right now?

We came up with 3 ways to support local small businesses that we can ALL can do to help keep our communities from drowning in the uncertainty and fear that COVID-19 has bought.

  1. Support small businesses by buying local or if unable to go out to shop, go to their websites & buy. Supermarkets seem to be doing a roaring trade but are simply not able to keep up with the demand for so many basic items we normally take for granted. Small businesses such as butchers, bakery’s, fruit & veggie shops are stocked up. Make it part of your routine to shop at these little shops rather than always parting with your bucks at the big retailers. Not only will you find they have not run out of what you need, but their shops are not as crowded either. This is a win for all of us from a contagion perspective as well as supporting small business. Oh and needless to say, it’s unlikely you will be attacked by anyone. If you have to self isolate or quarantine, rest assured you don’t have to be without your favourite Fossey’s gin because you can shop online and have it delivered right to do your door, contactless! Perfect for mums stuck home with children who can’t go to school. Hey, it’s not called “Mummy’s Little Helper” for nothing!
  2. Like, comment on & share local businesses social media posts. Like their pages. Help your local small businesses be seen by more and more people on Facebook & Insta. SM is relatively cheap word of mouth advertising and the more people who are engaging with businesses posts the more they will be pushed into people’s news feeds. Of course, this has a flow on effect, when our local businesses are doing well, there are more jobs for local people.
  3. Think before you cancel your dinner or social plans. Do you REALLY want to spend the night home alone rather than going to your favourite restaurant, having great food, being waited on and socialising? In most cases, probably not. It really is a matter of, #staysafe TO #staysocial.

As people we need to return to our villages. As human beings we need to support one another. There has never been a time in history for any of us alive that this has been more important. Kindness, understanding and love are the things we can practice more than anything else at this time. Oh and of course, having a positive attitude, a laugh and some fun is super important too.

So there you have 3 ways to support local small businesses right now! With a few adaptions, we can continue being the social beings that we are naturally are, and of course, enjoy our gin at the same time.

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Gin-spired Blogger Girl

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Fossey’s Friday night Delight

Friday night delight

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What to do on a Friday night in Mildura

After work Friday night, I decided I would sit for awhile at Fossey’s Ginporium enjoying one…oh OK….maybe three tasting paddles. I was child free and came to the conclusion that a night out was definitely in order. 

I got the ginspirational tasting paddles because at just $20 each, I believe they are a gincredible deal whilst at the same time giving me an array of speciality gin’s to tantalise my taste buds and warm my insides! 

As I was sipping away at my tipple, thoroughly enjoying the Friday night chilled gin vibe, my eye was caught by the food menu that’s available during Friday sessions.  Looking a little closer, I discovered that there were not only an array of ginsational beverage delights but also food delights as well. Honestly, what more could a girl in the big city of Mildura ask for? Fabulously friendly atmosphere, gin paddles tantalising my taste buds along with delectable culinary delights! I was in foodie and ginnie heaven! 

Feeling a little peckish after a hard day in the office, I decided upon the panko prawns with salad and Aioli sauce. My mouth was watering as I ordered it and I could hardly wait for it to arrive – seriously I was that hungry! 

I think I was just one gin down before my delightful dinner arrived which was prepared by the amazingly talented people at Gourmet Chef! It looked stunning and I satisfied my ravenous hunger by wasting no time in getting started devouring the ginious creation. I can tell you I was not disappointed. I am not exaggerating in the slightest, when I say, it was the highlight of my day and as soon as I had finished my last mouthful, I considered whether or not it would look really greedy of and a bit piggy like to order a second lot. Deciding it wouldn’t look very classy like to devour another plate of prawns, I settled on another gincredible tasting paddle with Hot Cross Bun gin, Naval Strength (woo this one is deliciously lethal) and Old Man Saltbush with the low sugar version of Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic because it’s lower in calories – always thinking of fitting into the all important jeans! 

My sister joined me for a catch up a little while later and we had a fabulous time, enjoying the ambience of Fossey’s, where it’s quiet enough to talk to one another and unwind after a super hectic week of children and work.  

If you are looking for what to do on a Friday night in Mildura, a place to unwind on a Friday night with deliciously tantalising food, then Fossey’s definitely is the place to be. 

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

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January 17, 2023 No Comments

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Celebrating the Fabulous Women of Fossey’s

International women's day

The fabulous
women of fossey's

International women's day
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Fossey’s is celebrating our fabulous WOMEN!!

Sunday 8th of March is the 109th International Women’s Day, which in case you didn’t know, is a “global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women”.

We are proud of all our fabulous female team members but are particularly proud to boast about our two delightful female distillers, Tash & Bonnie.

Why are we particularly proud of Tash & Bonnie?

Well, we have a fabulous reason! Female distillers are actually as scarce as an unhappy person at the Broken Heel Festival. Distillers are mostly male in Australia. Having two of these rare beauties as part of the Fossey’s team, really does set us apart in the gin making world where, for centuries, men have completely dominated the spirit production industry! Production was definitely considered a “’blokes business’; a fast-paced, dog-eat-dog world where women weren’t welcome” according to Women’s Agenda.

Well times are a changing…

Fossey’s really is leading the way in the evolution of the spirit production world.  

But don’t be mistaken, Tash & Bonnie weren’t employed just because they are fabulous females. They were most definitely the best and ginspirational people for the job. They have combined their passion, determination and ginious to bring Australia their amazing gindescribable delicious creations – including the gincredible, original and fabulously famous Hot Cross Bun Gin!

Whilst we are celebrating our fantastic females for International Women’s Day, another ginteresting fact that we are super-duper proud of is that Fossey’s is a completely family friendly workplace, mostly run by women and mothers. Of course, we have some men at Fossey’s and they ensure no one suffers an estrogen overdose, but the Ginporium is mainly manned by babes which happens to make us the complete opposite of most of the spirit making world, just in case you needed another reason to love us!

A huge Fossey’s shout out to all the AMAZING women in the world. Congratulations on all of your many achievements in whatever field you are in and a very special thank you to the gorgeous girls, who make Fossey’s so wonderful!

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

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Gin Myths: Is Gin a Depressant? Does Gin help with weight loss?

gin myths

Gin Myths: Is Gin a Depressant? Does Gin help with weight loss?

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What is the real story with these old gin myths?

I first heard the rumour “Gin is a depressant” when I was about 16. I had no idea and believed the person that told me because surely they must know a lot more about alcohol than me, given they were 40 and I a mere teenager.

Since then, I have never had a ginkling and always preferred to go for a vodka soda to keep my weight down with the lower caloric alcoholic bevvy. To be truthful, I never liked vodka soda very much. It was definitely an acquired taste and one I kind of forced myself to enjoy in the name of squeezing into my jeans and enjoying a drink or ten at the same time. After awhile, I was used to it and it became the staple alcoholic drink when relaxing or socialising.

However, since starting my ginspirational career at Fossey’s, I have discovered a whole new world of flavours when it comes to the humble white spirit. Who knew gin could be so exciting or delectable? Certainly not me. I accept I may have been a little slow to catch on to the rising popularity of flavoursome gin, but now I have discovered the array of delicious flavours gin comes in at Fossey’s, I can assure you I am a convert! Vodka soda really does pale in comparison, is frighteningly boring and very yawnish.

Since becoming a converted gin fan, I mentioned to a friend, I was buying a bottle of Fossey’s Desert Lime Gin for a girls night out, He quickly replied, “gin is a depressant”. I asked him how he knew that and his reply was “everyone knows that” as he shrugged knowingly, and rather annoyingly.

A little concerned my friends and I would suddenly turn into blubbering and hysterical messes after two G&T’s, picturing each of us trying to speak through sorrowful howls, whilst trying to console the other. I pondered, where did this ginformation come from? Is it actual fact? Or just some crazy wives tale?

My first step into my ginvestigation was to ask one of the fabulous Fossey’s distillers what the deal was and how gin was different to other spirits to cause it’s drinkers to wail uncontrollably into their tipple and uncovered there is NOTHING different in gin than other spirits that would induce immediate depression.

Hmm…clearly this was a case for the ginternet.

So I went digging to find where this widespread and seemingly nonsensical gin myths came from. Gincredibly, I found that there absolutely no basis for the myth that gin is any more a depressant than any other spirit. I am elated to report that it is undeniably a MYTH. The general consensus is that it is just like any alcohol being a mood enhancer – that is if you are feeling fabulously chirpy, then gin could enhance that. On the other hand, if you are feeling salty and sad, then too much gin, in a short amount of time, could possibly enhance that. Same as any other form of alcohol!

In fact, in my snooping I uncovered that a G&T does not live up to these weird gin myths, is not only gindescribably delicious and not a depressant but it is also aids WEIGHT LOSS.

Hold up…what?

Yep you read right! A Latvian study by researchers from the Sigulda University found that G&T boosts our body’s ability to burn calories for one hour after drinking it (sounds legit). Another ginteresting fact is gin is made from antioxidant-rich juniper berries which speed up your metabolism. Doesn’t that ginformation just make you want you to stock up and drink up – all in the name of good health & fitting into your jeans, of course?

Bottoms up & chin chin, gin lovers!

Until next time,

Fossey’s Ginspired Blogger Girl

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Fabulous Hot Cross Bun Gin

Easter gin

Fabulous Hot Cross Bun Gin

Easter gin
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I had the absolute privilege of trying the first batch of this delicious gin and I have to tell you it is fabulous! I was sold from my very first sip.

It was served up to me with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, on ice and a garnish of orange slice. I was delighted with it’s beautiful but simple recipe blend of nutmeg, cinnamon and excited to discover the Flame Seedless Grapes are locally produced in Mildura by the Garreffa family and are steeped in our Original Gin Elixir that perfectly sums up Easter in a bottle.

I loved the citrus notes being the strong but subtle basis of this Gin and could taste the full flavour of the spices. I was pleasantly surprised at how moreish it is and couldn’t possibly stop at just one! It almost felt illegal, it was that good.

The Fossey’s family are big believers in devouring and celebrating with Hot Cross Bun’s at Easter time and this Gin aligns perfectly with this time of year.

Given there are only a limited number of this fabulous gin available for purchase and they sell out within days of being released, I highly recommend you make getting your hands on a bottle or two, a huge priority.

My hot tip is if you miss out on this one, you will be very disappointed about having to wait another year to savour the deliciousness of this truly one of a kind, gift from the heavens.

The best and easiest way to find out when Hot Cross Bun Gin is released, is by subscribing to be a Friend of Fossey’s. This will ensure you are one of our exclusive & fabulous club members and will be one of the first to know when it is released for sale. Sign up here: http://fosseysgin.com.au/loyalty/

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Fossey’s at Sipafrolic 2023!

January 17, 2023

Fossey’s are super excited to be part of the Sipafrolic event debuting March 3rd-5th 2023 at North Melbourne’s iconic Meat Market venue! TICKETS NOW