Ever been stung by a green ant? When I first arrived in Australia, I went to a BBQ and accidentally sat on a green ant’s nest. Rookie error. I had a mind-body disconnect, like when you put your hand on something very hot and you can’t figure out if it’s hot or cold for a microsecond. When than microsecond passes though – holy balls Batman. I had green ant bites all over my butt and I swung around like a dancing air man, screaming in pain, while everyone laughed. The sting, the pain, the enduring nature of it all…awful. Even the ants here try to kill you.
Anyway, back to the reason for this story – Seven Seasons’ Green Ant Gin feels like a celebration of these ants. This is a rare find, an award-winning Australian spirit with real green ants suspended in the bottle (yes, they float and being drowned in gin isn’t a bad way to go), a backstory spanning 60,000 years, and a flavour profile that had us doing a double take from the very first sip – it’s genuinely really, really, really good.
The Story
Behind Seven Seasons is Daniel Motlop a Larrakia man and former AFL player, best known for his 130-game career with North Melbourne and Port Adelaide. These days he’s channelling the thirst for a win, into something far more enduring: an Indigenous-owned spirits brand grounded in Larrakia cultural knowledge, now scaling nationally through Amber Beverage Group.
The brand takes its name from the Larrakia seasonal calendar – seven seasons, not four, which governs the rhythms of Country in the Northern Territory and dictates what can be harvested, and when. The hero ingredient, the green ant, is gathered during Windy Season, when nests are freshly formed and the ants are at their most vibrant (and ripe for biting, apparently). Using a closely guarded traditional method, nests are gently chilled so worker ants can be separated while queens and breeding cycles are left untouched, meaning the colony thrives season after season. A thoughtful, sustainable way to approach ant-farming showing a true understanding of the land.
Over three tonnes of native ingredients are sustainably wild-harvested each year, with local Aboriginal harvesters employed along the way and money flowing directly back into communities. Nothing taken without purpose. Nothing wasted. It’s the kind of provenance story most brands can only dream of and here, it’s not marketing, it’s the whole point.
The Pour
Now, to the bit you’re really wondering about: what does a gin with ants in it actually taste like?
Honestly? Delicious. The green ants deliver a bright, unexpected citrusy pop and the overall effect is surprisingly close to a beautiful Japanese gin: clean, layered, elegant, with that whisper of something you can’t quite place. Boobialla brings coastal floral notes with a hint of sweetness, strawberry gum adds warm spice on the nose, while lemon myrtle and pepper berry deepen the citrus base. It’s complex, but approachable – like all great Australians. It’s honestly our finest, most sophisticated offering in the gin space.
How to Drink It
Winter is exactly when this bottle earns its keep. Pour it over ice with a premium tonic and a twist of lemon and let those native botanicals do the talking, or build it into a citrus-forward martini for something a little more occasion-worthy. It’s a natural fit for hosting season , the bottle alone is a talking point – with an excellent story perfect for dinner conversation.
What a great gift for travellers, and what a great badge of pride to have in your drinks cabinet, a quality Australian gin, with ants in it.
The Details
Green Ant Gin is currently available at Dan Murphy’s and BWS. The full Seven Seasons range, including the Bush Apple Gin and Bush Honey & Wattleseed Coffee Liqueur, is available at seven-seasons.com.au.
What we are Addicted to
The citrusy pop of those green ants, the Japanese-gin elegance in a distinctly Australian bottle, and a brand story that actually means something — culture, Country and community in every pour.
What do we need to be more Addicted to
Getting the rest of the range into more bottle shops nationally — once you’ve tasted the Green Ant Gin, you’ll want to work your way through all seven seasons.
