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Mistere Spa & Retreat is a luxury Australian getaway immersed in nature but when you arrive there is more than just nature that you can discover.

Of course there are the prerequisites: lush rainforest surroundings teeming with koalas, kookaburras and colourful birds. There are walking trails throughout the fifty hectare property that wind up and down through forest passing by waterfalls, glistening dams, stunning sculptures and a calming Zen Garden with a towering Buddha.There are a myriad of adventures in the area. Spectacular crops of towering sugar cane grow in abundance, the town of Murwillumbah, the next Byron, offers a quaint organic market on Wednesday mornings with everything from locally made almond milk to biscuits, breakfast and fresh produce.

And then there is Husk Distillers ‘Ink Gin’. It’s made with 13 organic botanicals, including a mix of traditional and Australian natives. Like all true gins, juniper berries are the largest botanical component, however the defining character of Ink Gin comes from the second tier botanicals led by locally grown lemon myrtle leaf, coriander seed, Tasmanian pepper berry and freshly peeled sundried sweet orange peel. These major ingredients give Ink Gin its fresh pine-like, spicy and citrusy aroma and flavour. The third group of minor botanicals include elderflower, cinnamon, cardamom, angelica root, oris root, licorice root and lemon peel. Like a pinch of salt, these minor ingredients are critical to the end result adding perfume, body and balance.

The final ingredient is added in a post-distillation infusion. The specially prepared petals of the butterfly pea flower are steeped in the still for twenty-four hours to give Ink Gin its distinctive colour.

Now for the scientific part. Remember high school chemistry?

Butterfly pea flowers are highly sensitive to pH. When the floral-infused Ink Gin is mixed with something of low pH (including gin’s best friends; tonic water, lime or lemon), the colour changes dramatically from blue to blush pink. Not magic – just science.

As well as contributing to Ink’s curious colour-changing properties, the delicate obscuration of the floral ink makes for smooth drinking. The flower’s subtle astringency leaves the palate crisp and clean, allowing the citrus and floral notes of the major botanicals a long, refreshing finish. Have fun experimenting with Ink Gin in your favourite cocktails, or drink neat or over ice.

So change the colours of your world with a relaxing break at Mistere Spa & Retreat and from the end of 2018 Husk Distillers will be open to the public and can be visited with Mount Warning Tours.