As Australian craft gin continues to make waves globally, more Aussies are looking to explore beyond the familiar bottles at their local bottle shop. That’s where Garden Street Gin comes in – a premium monthly subscription that delivers full-sized bottles of carefully curated gins right to your door.
Unlike services like Gintonica that offer small samples, Garden Street Gin commits to sending subscribers a complete 700ml bottle each month, along with perfectly paired tonics, garnishes, and a detailed guide to help you appreciate each gin’s unique character.
After testing multiple boxes over several months, I’m sharing my hands-on experience with Garden Street Gin to help you decide if this subscription is right for you.
From the quality of their selections to the value for money, I’ll cover everything you need to know (and yes, thoroughly testing all that gin is definitely a tough job, but someone has to do it).
Gin Subscription Box Review
Garden Street Gin - Review Summary
Garden Street Gin is a premium subscription service ideal for gin enthusiasts who want to explore full bottles of interesting craft gins at their own pace, complete with perfectly paired tonics and detailed tasting guides. While it’s not the cheapest way to buy gin, the curated experience and educational aspects make it worthwhile for those who enjoy learning about and discovering new gins, particularly Australian craft varieties.
Overall
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Ordering - Website - 9/10
9/10
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Products - Quality & Experience - 10/10
10/10
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Ordering - Delivery - 9/10
9/10
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Value For Money - 7/10
7/10
Pros
- Full-sized 700ml bottles instead of samples
- Beautiful presentation with premium packaging
- Flexible delivery schedule (1-3 months)
- Includes quality tonics, garnishes, and detailed tasting guides
- Good mix of Australian craft and international gins
Cons
- Small tonic portions mean buying extra mixers
- Limited to 4-12 different gins per year
- Premium price point at $99/box
- Snack pairings sometimes feel random
- Some gins might not suit your taste (though that’s part of discovery)
Explore Garden Street TodayExplore new gins every month, as a treat or a perfect gift!
Page Contents
Who are Garden Street Gin?
Garden Street takes its name from a street in Williamstown, Melbourne where founders Josh and Lauren developed their vision for a craft gin subscription service.
What began as a way to explore and share interesting Australian gins has evolved into a curated monthly service that connects gin enthusiasts with both local and international producers.
The company maintains direct relationships with distilleries across Australia, focusing particularly on craft producers whose gins aren’t widely available in retail stores.
While Australian gins make up the majority of their selections, they occasionally feature international gins to give subscribers a broader perspective on global gin styles.
What do Garden Street Gin offer?
Garden Street Gin provides the same service to everyone, with a full 700ml gin bottle being sent to all subscribers each month. They promise to provide a wide range of interesting gins, so people can explore different gins over the course of a longer subscription.
On top of the gin, each box includes:
- 2 small paired premium tonic waters
- Garnishes and botanicals
- A couple of gourmet snacks chosen to complement the gin
- A detailed monthly magazine with tasting notes, stories, and cocktail recipes
- Additional surprise gifts that vary month to month
New subscribers also receive a welcome gift pack, which can vary depending on when you sign up.
The gins can be sourced from anywhere in the world, but a majority of the gins are sourced from right here in Australia.
When subscribing, you have the flexibility to choose to receive a box every 1, 2 or 3 months and like a Food Box Mate favourite, Liquor Loot, it’s very easy to skip a delivery as well.
Changes to subscriptions, including skipping boxes or updating delivery frequency, can be made through the member portal up until the 3rd of each month, when payments are processed. Orders typically ship within 1-2 business days after payment.
I love my gin, but it’s also balanced with my love of wine and beer, so I rarely get through a full bottle of gin every month. I really appreciate the ability to subscribe for a box every 2-3 months.
Explore Garden Street TodayExplore new gins every month, as a treat or a perfect gift!
The Garden Street shop
On top of their regular subscription boxes, you can also buy full bottles of gin from their shop. Prices range from $79 – $90 for a 700ml bottle.
The Garden Street shop is particularly interesting because they sell a wide range of unique and interesting gins that are hard to get elsewhere, like cumquat gin and sangiovese gin.
You’ll also find full-size packages of dried fruits, gin liqueurs, tonic bottles and gin glasses.
How much does a Garden Street Gin subscription cost?
Garden Street Gin charges a standard, flat rate of $99 per box for their subscription service, making them one of the more premium gin subscriptions in Australia. Each box has a claimed retail value of over $140 when including the gin, tonics, garnishes, snacks, magazine and shipping.
Individual gift boxes can be purchased for $115, and the company offers 3, 6, and 12-month prepaid gift subscriptions.
The service comes with a money-back guarantee on unopened/unused products if you’re not satisfied with your box.
Do Garden Street Gin charge for delivery?
All delivery costs are included in the price of the subscription box, with boxes typically arriving within 1-2 weeks of dispatch.
For individual gift boxes or gin shop purchases, standard shipping costs $10-$15 depending on your postcode. Express shipping is available for $20-$25, and same-day delivery is offered in metro Melbourne.
Tracking is provided for all deliveries, with dispatch notifications sent via email.
My Garden Street Gin subscription
Each Garden Street Gin box is beautifully presented and packaged. The outer design is simple and refined, but it’s inside where things get exciting.
Boxes are packed full of thin cardboard strips to give an almost nest-like appearance. Your products are then gently placed on top, peeking around the packaging. It’s one of the most premium discovery boxes I’ve experienced, which means it lends itself perfectly as a gift.
What’s in a Garden Street Gin box?
My first box came with a large bottle of Banks & Solander gin from Botany Bay in Sydney. To pair with it, I was provided elderflower tonic from Fever-Tree as well as some dried orange slices.
I’m not sure I understand the pairing logic regarding the additional snacks though. In the case of the Banks & Solander gin, this seemed to be paired with chickpea-based snacks. Without an explanation in the booklet, I was left a little confused.
Whilst the associated booklet doesn’t let on the secrets of the snack pairing, it does a fantastic job educating about the gin itself and providing different serving options. It’s printed on high-quality paper and I found it well-written and interesting.
I couldn’t just stop at one box though. I had to test how the experience varied between different months, right?
The good news is that the high standards and quality extended into the next box. This time, Four Pillars with their Rare Old Tom gin was featured along with Strangelove Distillers tonic, which was totally new to me.
I loved the addition of a bar of Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin chocolate. That’s an absolute winner on any day.
Is a Garden Street Gin subscription good value?
In each box, they claim to provide a total value of at least $140 so I wanted to test that claim with two of the boxes I received. How much would it cost for me to buy each of the products individually?
Ingredients | Individual Price |
---|---|
Banks and Solander Gin 700ml | $85.00 |
Fevertree Elderflower Tonic x2 | $3.60 |
Dried Orange Slices | $6.95 |
Yippea Tom Yum Snack | $4.50 |
Crunchy Chickpea Snacks x2 | $1.90 |
Total | $101.95 |
Vs.
Garden Street Gin
$99.00
Ingredients | Individual Price |
---|---|
Four Pillars Rare Old Tom 700ml | $78.00 |
Strangelove Distillers Tonic x2 | $5.50 |
Dried Orange Slices | $6.95 |
Harvest Box Spiced Up Snack | $2.50 |
Four Pillars Dark Chocolate | $7.50 |
Total | $100.45 |
Vs.
Garden Street Gin
$99.00
That means you are getting what you pay for with the gin, tonic, and snacks alone. The subscription provides additional value through:
- Delivery
- Packaging
- Access to rare and limited edition gins
- Detailed monthly magazine with tasting notes and recipes
I think that makes Garden Street a fantastic value subscription if you want to enhance your gin drinking experience.
Let’s be honest, you COULD save yourself around $20 (minus shipping) by just buying a variety of gins yourself. That’s not why a gin subscription is interesting though.
Should you subscribe to Garden Street Gin?
After trying several boxes, I’ve found Garden Street Gin delivers exactly what they promise – a full bottle of interesting gin each month, along with the extras needed to appreciate it properly. The full 700ml bottles are a welcome change from the sample-sized portions you often get with tasting services.
The flexible delivery schedule (monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly) worked well for me, as I tend to take my time working through each bottle. I particularly enjoyed reading through the detailed tasting notes, which helped me understand what makes each gin unique.
There’s always a chance you might receive a gin that isn’t to your immediate taste. However, I see this as an opportunity to experiment with different serving styles – whether using Mr Consistent cocktail mixers or exploring other ways beyond the classic G&T that can completely transform its character.
There are a couple of practical considerations to keep in mind. The mixer bottles are quite small, so you’ll need to buy more to get through the whole gin bottle. Also, exploring one gin per delivery means you’re limited to 4-12 different gins per year, depending on your subscription frequency.
The subscription works best if you’re interested in discovering new gins at a relaxed pace and enjoy learning about what you’re drinking. It’s particularly good for anyone who wants to explore Australian gins, though they do include international options too.
Explore Garden Street TodayExplore new gins every month, as a treat or a perfect gift!