Coffee-cocktail collab champions Ballarat

IF you’re partial to a cocktail, four Ballarat brands have blended to build an espresso martini you can enjoy from the comfort of your lounge room.

Alex Power, the founder of local food delivery service, Delivr has partnered with Kilderkin Distillery, Karon Farm Coffee and Revolution Print to produce, bottle and label Cambrian Hill, a premade espresso martini.

The software developer said the Delivr team enjoy brainstorming “creative, cool, hyper-local” project ideas to support and promote the city’s small businesses.

“Coming out of winter we thought, what can we do to bottle a little bit of summer in one great experience, as we head into the ‘roaring 20s,’” Mr Power said.

“I’ve always wanted to create a physical product, because everything I’ve done before has been software-based, and we knew the espresso martini was the most popular cocktail in Australia.”

Sourcing the award-winning Lal Lal Falls blend from Karon Farm Coffee and getting Kilderkin on board, Mr Power said the collaboration – developed from “the ground up” under the Distillery’s banner – has felt “like winning the lottery.”

“We’re really proud of Cambrian Hill. We don’t say it’s made in Ballarat, we say it’s made by Ballarat.

“Kilderkin’s Chris Pratt has such a rich, in-depth knowledge of the entire distilling process and how to make flavours come alive. His products blow your mind. It’s the best gin in Victoria,” he said.

“Karon Farm’s blend brings a very rich, warm coffee taste to the cocktail, with chocolate notes.”

Mr Power said the martini isn’t harsh to drink, but has a sweetness, and is designed to be drinkable at any time of the day.

Luke McPherson, chief roaster at Karon Farm Coffee, said Mr Power “worked hard” to get the taste he was after, with the Lal Lal Falls blend “fitting perfectly.”

“I’ve tasted quite a few premade espresso martinis before and they’ve never really hit the spot, but this one really has. They’ve done a really good job,” Mr McPherson said.

Cambrian Hill is ideally served shaken, “a little bit frothy,” and in a martini glass.

“All the planets aligned. We’ve found the best coffee, the be

st distiller, the best designer and printer,” Mr Power said.

“When you have a good vision, a desire to keep it local and support local, people bring ideas to you.”

The cocktail has only been on sale for a few weeks, but has been popular, with most of the first batch already sold.

Visit kilderkindistillery.com.au/onlineshop to purchase a bottle.