What Happens When You Distil a Mushroom Into a Gin?
Every now and then I get a wild idea.
This was one of them.
I wanted to make something unexpected — something that would challenge how people think about gin. I kept coming back to Lion’s Mane mushrooms from Skipworth Mushrooms, grown just down the road from us in the South West.
They’re stunning things — snow-white, soft, and full of flavour. They smell faintly of honey and brioche, with hints of citrus and caramel. Not exactly your classic gin ingredient, but I couldn’t let the idea go.
So, I did what any curious distiller does — I ran them through the still.
Distilled and Infused
We started with our X17 Gin recipe as the base — clean, citrus-forward, and built from West Australian ingredients we ferment and distil ourselves. Fresh Lion’s Mane mushrooms went into the botanical basket to capture those lighter, aromatic tones during distillation.
The first spirit that came out had this incredible copper hue and a warm, toasty aroma — but I knew there was more to pull from it. So after distillation, I went again — infusing the mushrooms a second time to draw out the deeper notes of honey, brioche and caramel that heat alone can’t capture.
The result was something completely unique — intensely aromatic, rich, and complex, but still unmistakably gin.
The Flavour
You get layers of citrus, honey, caramel, and toasted brioche, all sitting over a bright juniper backbone. There’s a silky texture that almost feels creamy, and a depth that keeps unfolding as you sip.
It’s earthy, elegant, and just a little bit wild — exactly how I like my experiments.
How to Drink It
Try it neat to see the full spectrum of flavour, or in a Martini where the savoury-sweet balance really shines. It’s also beautiful with a dry tonic or soda.
Why I Made It
At Beyond, we don’t make spirits for the sake of novelty — we make them to explore what Western Australia actually tastes like.
Distilling Lion’s Mane wasn’t about being trendy; it was about following curiosity wherever it leads.
And this time, it led to something remarkable.