In the back of every Australian freezer growing up – yep, behind that bag of frozen peas – was a plastic tub containing that most humble, most comforting of trifectas: the strawberry, vanilla and chocolate flavour combo that is Neapolitan ice cream. Now, the dessert masterminds at Gelato Messina and the gin savants at Archie Rose have teamed up to reinvent a boozy version of this childhood classic.
A new trio of whimsically bottled spirits includes 200 mls of a strawberry and pink peppercorn gin, a vanilla and pandan vodka, and a chocolatey cacao husk and hazelnut whisky. The Neapolitan Set is available from Monday, September 7, and contains produce from Messina's own farms in Australia. The strawberry and pink peppercorn gin – the pink 'strawberry' stripe in the Neapolitan tub – pairs locally foraged peppercorn and native river mint with strawberries grown in Dural, NSW. The vanilla-focused vodka uses pandan and sustainably sourced Tongan Heilala vanilla beans, while the chocolate-inspired whisky contains the flavours of roasted hazelnuts – some from Piedmont, Italy and some from Messina's farm in Seymour, Victoria – along with the husks of cocoa beans for a rich base.
Want to know how to work those beauties into a sweet cocktail? Tune into a masterclass run by Messina and Archie Rose on September 25. Until then, experiment on your own by buying the set online, from Archie Rose's bar and in some bottle shops from September 7 for $109. If you'd rather just a tub of ice cream (not to stash in the freezer, to actually eat this time), Messina's also doing a run of Neapolitan ice cream tubs from September 7, available from all its stores.
