Ester

Unashamedly inspired by an obsessive quest for the perfect Negroni, talented hospitality veterans Felix Clark and Corinna Kovner began their distilling journey with a 20-litre coffee boiler still in the backyard of their Newtown digs. Tentative sampling to their hospo friends confirmed what they initially believed—their efforts were hitting the mark, and Ester Gin was born.

Initially, it was a slow burn while the running of two successful cafes in Sydney and important life admin took precedence. The penny finally dropped in 2020 when their Ester Strong Gin won Best in Show at the Australian Gin Awards. One of the judges took Clark aside, proclaiming Ester’s Strong to be “The best Gin I’ve had in my life”. There would be no turning back.

To borrow a phrase from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ester’s guiding philosophy seems less textbook and more of “a constant, turbulent riot”. Made without regard to perceived trends or esoteric, headline-grabbing botanicals, these are Gins of outstanding class and true quality.

The first rule of Ester: charismatic flavour, and lots of it. Ester’s botanical load is between 110 and 150% higher than most other Gins, which drives up costs—a price Felix and Corinna are happy to pay considering the uptick in flavour and wrap-around-the-tongue character they get into the glass. The second rule is balance: no one component steals the show. Clark and Kovner bring a chef’s mentality to fine-tune the scale between big flavour and textural elements.

The Dry Gin is openly based on a London Dry style: bold, savoury and specifically designed to be used in a Negroni (although you are welcome to expand on that). The Strong Gin has already been festooned by industry acclaim, winning World’s Best Navy at the 2021 World Gin Awards (among other awards). There’s also a righteous prebatched Negroni—a badge of honour for Clark—that in our opinion, tastes like it was designed to set a benchmark for the category.  

Clark and Kovner are presently renovating their distillery space in Marrickville, a large 1950s/60s red brick building “so ugly it’s beautiful”, with enough room for a bar and gallery. Frankie, Ester’s 200-litre hybrid offset still, stands at the ready, with Clark expecting that this still’s smaller batches will enable him to refine his recipe even further. And this is just the beginning of the journey. To Felix Clark and Corinna Kovner, resting on your laurels seems a sign of defeat. There are now several new Gin styles in conception, and the building next door has already been earmarked for Clark’s other love, Rum.