When the Wander out Yonder vouchers were released last year to help the tourism industry in WA, I was one of the lucky 10,000 to snap one up. After much contemplation on where to spend it, I spied something I’d been wanting to do for ages – a walking gin tour of Perth with Hidden deTours.
Some of you may remember I did their very first gin tour of Perth by bus back in 2019, and the walking tour was released shortly after that.
Armed with my comfiest walking shoes and travel blogger friend, Amanda Kendle from Not A Ballerina, we set off on our Saturday evening tour of the city. Being December, we got to take in quite a few of the Christmas Lights display around the city centre, which is always magical and worth a visit.
Our gin tour guide for the evening was Tania, who was absolutely fabulous and had some super interesting snippets of Perth history to share along the way. The tour started at 5pm on a gloriously warm December evening, in the beautiful London Court and wound its way around the city, to end up in Northbridge.
Gin Stop #1 – Foxtrot Unicorn
Our first gin stop of the evening was Foxtrot Unicorn on St Georges Terrace. Now this is the kind of place that if you didn’t know it existed, you’d walk straight past it. Hidden away inside a box standard building (which is actually 130 years old), down the stairs and round a corner, this bar is a complete surprise and delight.
We got to try three unique gin cocktails here along with a charcuterie platter of cheeses, cold meats, olives, crackers, and breads.
Our first cocktail was Old Youngs 1829 gin paired with a Sicilian lemon tonic and a sprig of thyme.
Cocktail number two was an Archie Rose signature dry gin with a Mediterranean tonic, along with a slice of grapefruit and a sprig of rosemary (my favourite!).
The third gin cocktail was Poor Tom’s Sydney dry gin with a dry tonic, a mint garnish and a fresh strawberry.
Gin Stop #2 – The Rechabite
Suitably spirited, we set off from Foxtrot Unicorn for our next stop The Rechabite on William St in Northbridge. Ironically the building was actually built by a temperance movement who preached abstinence from drinking!
As there was a private event in the building we had our gin cocktail masterclass here in the Goodwill Club on the basement floor.
Again, we were served three different gin cocktails and given a bit about the history of gin, The Rechabite and the origin of each cocktail.
Our first cocktail was a South Side, made with a Spanish gin, Larios, mint and lime.
Next up was a Charlie Chaplin, comprising Haymans sloe gin, apricot brandy and lime juice (super sweet, almost candy floss-like, but delicious if you have a sweet tooth) – invented by Charlie Chaplin himself.
Lastly, we had the trendy Negroni – this one was made using Larios gin, fortified wine, sweet vermouth and Campari (way too bitter for me especially after the Charlie Chaplin).
Gin Stop #3 – Frisk Small Bar
Our third and final gin stop for the evening was Frisk Small Bar – which has been going for over 10 years so they must be doing something right! It was actually their 10th birthday on the day of our walking gin tour so it was extra special.
Owner Friska took us through a guided gin tasting of some of her favourite gins.
Her three chosen gins, all served with Capi dry tonic, were:
Bulldog London dry gin paired with fresh lychee
Larios gin paired with a slice of grapefruit
Hayman London Dry sloe gin paired with a small handful of blueberries
The food platter at Frisk was amazing and so fresh – olives, freshly baked breads, crackers and continental mix. As this was our final stop of the evening, after the tour had ended around 8pm, we ordered a few sharing plates from the bar menu to finish off our evening perfectly.
If you love gin and history, and want to discover some stories and spots around Perth, this is the tour for you. Heck, even if you aren’t a huge gin fan but enjoy trying new things or want to learn about the fascinating history of our city, I think you’ll love this walking gin tour of Perth with Hidden deTours.
To book, find out more on their website and socials:
Website – https://www.hiddendetours.com.au/gin-walking-tours.html
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/hiddendetours/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/hiddendetours/
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