Here's a New Zealand tonic: gin-tasting takes to the skies

But they pale in comparison to the latest world first. Every lover of booze (and there are plenty of us) should try this at least once in their lifetime. For I'm on board the world's very first heli-gin tour.

Queenstown is dubbed the adventure capital of the world, so of course, it'd be here that some bright spark thought to add a helicopter to the usually slow-paced practice of gin tasting.

I'm driven to a helicopter hangar on the edge of town, strapped into the front seat, and transported high above the town. Queenstown looks good from the ground, but you haven't really seen Queenstown till you've seen it from up here. Below me, the glacier-fed Lake Wakatipu (rumoured to be bottomless) stretches out to mountains of the Southern Alps that run all the way to New Zealand's west coast. We fly out towards the region's most iconic mountain range, The Remarkables, then double back and disappear into the rugged backcountry between Queenstown and Wanaka.

We land near the top of a mountain range, mid-way between Queenstown and Wanaka. There's no-one around for miles and once the helicopter powers down, there's a kind of silence you only really find on the tops of mountains. There's snow up here that won't melt till the end of summer (we're at about 2000 metres). Our heli-gin guide sets up a table in the snow and pours the country's most-exclusive gin in the country's most-exclusive gin-drinking location.

This is Limited Edition Gin: there are only about 300 bottles left of it and we're drinking from the last stash. It's as smooth as silk, my head's spinning from the rush of the liquor mixed with a dash of altitude. We take off and circle near Cardrona Alpine Resort, then head down to the valley below.

Taking pride of place here in Cardrona Valley is Cardrona Distillery, one of the world's best New World gin and whisky distilleries. Good gin needs good water and it doesn't get purer than here - running straight off Mount Cardrona into the distillery's aquifer. Local Desiree Reid started the distillery in 2015. It's an impressive creation too: built from local schist rock, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the mountains. We land right beside it, then stroll inside and take a seat in a private tasting room, beside a massive stone fireplace.

Reid was inspired by a tour of Scotland's distilleries and decided to return home and create her own spirits, using ingredients from local farmers, with a unique set of botanicals that grew locally (from native pepper to Manuka honey). She's already won awards for the world's best spirits at the planet's most illustrious distillery awards.

I'm granted backstage access to see how it comes together, passing by hallways of rich-smelling oak barrels full of fermenting spirits, watching head distiller Sarah Elsom work her magic. Then we're off, though my helicopter's gone - you can't land one at the next two tasting locations. Instead, I'll be riding in a van along the highest main road in New Zealand.

The Crown Range Road spans 70 kilometres or so from Wanaka to Queenstown, rising to 1121 metres above sea level, offering some of the best alpine road views in a country world-famous for them. We ride switchbacks and hairpin corners to the top of the range, then descend into the huge green alpine valley.

The next stop is in Arrowtown, a 20-minute drive from Queenstown. Arrowtown's main street is home to over 60 historic buildings and restored miners' cottages built along a tree-lined avenue beside the Arrow River, all of which date back to the Otago Gold Rush of the 1870s. We stop at The Winery, which stocks the world's largest range of New Zealand wines, whiskies and gins - with every bottle inside available for tasting.

Then we drive beneath the mountains that make up Queenstown's major ski resort, Coronet Peak, on a lonely back road that winds its way past sprawling country estates to our last stop, Broken Heart Gin & Spirits. There's a tasting room and restaurant here in the tiny hamlet of Arthurs Point, along the edge of the mighty Shotover River, barely five minutes drive from Queenstown, but a world away from its hustle and bustle.

Over German pizza, we sample award-winning gin and vodka created by two German ex-pat friends in the backyards of their houses. When one died, the other decided to share their creations with the world, and called the gin Broken Heart. The water's sourced from a place called Paradise (in nearby Mount Aspiring National Park), so it's got to be good. They use 11 natural botanicals and every bottle is 100 per cent handmade. The gin tastes great, but it's the vodka I'm here for. It's the world's best vodka, winning the award at the illustrious World Drink Awards in March. It tastes pretty good to me, but by now, the flavours are starting to blend; it's dusk outside and I'm as enamoured by my surroundings as I am by any world's-best spirit.

Six hours on, it's over and I'm an expert in New Zealand gin, surely? I should be able to tell the differences in the botanicals used in each bottle. I should know the differences between distilling techniques used and how the water used varies the taste. At the very least, I should be able to tell the difference between gin and vodka. But I'm not here to become a spirits expert. I got to ride a helicopter for a gin at the top of my own private mountain, I got to sample some of the best gin on Earth in tasting rooms built among some of its prettiest surrounds. And that's good enough for me.

Stay: The Rees Hotel offers a five-star stay right on Lake Wakatipu with stunning views over The Remarkables and a walking path to town. See therees.co.nz.

Fly: Qantas, Jetstar and Air New Zealand fly direct to Queenstown from Australia's east coast.

Tour: Visit three cellar doors and sample gin on the top of a mountain accessible only by helicopter on this six-hour tour from NZ$599 (about $525). See altitudetours.co.nz.

Explore more: queenstownnz.co.nz