Interview med Cherida Forde

Co-Founder, Impression

You are an advocate for fitness and a healthy & balanced lifestyle, could tell us a bit about your background?

I always had a passion for keeping fit and healthy which lead to my career starting out as a Personal Trainer, Yoga & Pilates instructor and I studied nutrition. I was in the fitness industry for around 10 years and then fell into the hospitality industry in marketing and events and always had an interest in food, good quality wine and spirits!

 

What is the story behind the Impression Gin?

Impression was born over a few afternoon g&t’s in the sun with my now business partner Dan Khouzam. We wanted to do gin differently. To design a gin the reflected our lifestyles and one of the Australian summer.

 

What is your philosophy behind the brand?

Designed to be different, it’s bold, it’s fresh and it sits in your non-traditional gin basket. Impression is infused with locally sourced natural antioxidants like mangosteen, calendula, Kakadu, and aloe vera. We worked with a team of export to source these ingredients and some have never been included in a gin before. The flavour profile has been made to pair perfectly with soda water as well as tonic which for a lot of gins is the other way around.

 

Could you tell us about the botanicals of the gin?  

Tasting notes and aromas of the gin? Impression is made up of mangosteen, calendula, lemon myrtle, Kakadu plum, finger lime, aloe vera, riberry, and the majority are sourced locally in South Australia. Impression is a bold but clean, fresh tipple flavour. Highlighting citrus notes from the Kakadu plum, the earthy flavour and slight bitterness of calendula, cut through with the sweet and refreshing taste from the mangosteen and tied together with the aromatic, fresh, minty scent of the finger lime.

 

How did you come up with the beautiful design of the bottles and labels?

Thank you! We spent a lot of time trying to work out what label we wanted to go with as we were adamant the look and feel of the bottle (and our marketing) had to reflect the gin and our background. Clean, modern, and fresh – and the best way to do this was ‘less is more!

 

Can you tell us a bit about the Australian gin scene?

The Australian gin scene is VERY saturated with South Australia housing over 40 distilleries. With this in mind we had to make Impression stand out and be different.

 

What are some of your favorite Australian gin brands?

Husk, Ambleside, Archie Rose

 

Could you recommend some must-visit places in Australia for gin lovers?

I love Husk distillery near Byron Bay