Top Notes - bright & floral. Lemon peel and rose water.
Heart Notes - unfurls after the top fades. Rose Petals, coriander seed and juniper.
Base Notes - spicy warmth. Szechuan pepper, angelica and orris root.
Exotic and floral, with supple textures and Middle East flavours that blossom and unfurls, with an Asian spice finish.
Best served with good quality grapefruit soda with an orange slice. Perfect for a smooth and sweetly spiced Negroni.
While many Kiwi spirit brands lean into the land, we lean into the mind — showcasing New Zealand’s ingenuity, originality, and willingness to experiment.
Unlikely Companions is a contemporary gin brand driven by a uniquely New Zealand take on creativity. Our gins pair individually distilled botanicals, blended with precision for layered but refined flavour experiences. They’re inspired by the world of perfume — not just in aroma and design, but in the way we invite drinkers to savour and explore them like a fine wine. Co-founder Simon’s fine wine background and Alice’s experiential marketing expertise have resulted in a sensory-forward spirit range that’s elegant, unexpected, and grounded in thoughtful creativity.
The distillation process at Unlikely Companions starts with a very pure grade whey-derived base spirit, sustainably sourced from NZ grass-fed dairy. We feel that whey base spirit tends to produce a smooth and silkier, more textural gin.
The next step is to macerate botanicals pre-distillation, and then each and every botanical is separately micro- batch distilled, at various temperatures and lengths of time, with only the hearts of each distillation retained, with the lower quality heads and tails discarded.
Heart Notes - unfurls after the top fades. Rose Petals, coriander seed and juniper.
Base Notes - spicy warmth. Szechuan pepper, angelica and orris root.
Exotic and floral, with supple textures and Middle East flavours that blossom and unfurls, with an Asian spice finish.
Best served with good quality grapefruit soda with an orange slice. Perfect for a smooth and sweetly spiced Negroni.
While many Kiwi spirit brands lean into the land, we lean into the mind — showcasing New Zealand’s ingenuity, originality, and willingness to experiment.
Unlikely Companions is a contemporary gin brand driven by a uniquely New Zealand take on creativity. Our gins pair individually distilled botanicals, blended with precision for layered but refined flavour experiences. They’re inspired by the world of perfume — not just in aroma and design, but in the way we invite drinkers to savour and explore them like a fine wine. Co-founder Simon’s fine wine background and Alice’s experiential marketing expertise have resulted in a sensory-forward spirit range that’s elegant, unexpected, and grounded in thoughtful creativity.
The distillation process at Unlikely Companions starts with a very pure grade whey-derived base spirit, sustainably sourced from NZ grass-fed dairy. We feel that whey base spirit tends to produce a smooth and silkier, more textural gin.
The next step is to macerate botanicals pre-distillation, and then each and every botanical is separately micro- batch distilled, at various temperatures and lengths of time, with only the hearts of each distillation retained, with the lower quality heads and tails discarded.
