Australia’s only dedicated rye whiskey distillery, The Gospel, is bringing back Rye July: a month-long celebration of its signature grain.

The 2026 edition features an exclusive cocktail collaboration with Melbourne’s fine-dining institution La Madonna,
and award-winning bartender Tanguy Charbonnet.

The cocktail will pour exclusively at La Madonna throughout July, with a small number of pre-batched miniature bottles also
available online via The Gospel’s website and via in-room-dining at Next Hotel Melbourne.

Tanguy’s creation, The Gospel of Louisiana, is a barrel-aged interpretation of the classic Louisiana cocktail, built around The
Gospel Solera Rye and a bespoke sweet vermouth blend. The result is a rich and elegant expression of one of the great rye whiskey classics.

While the collaboration is new, it stems from a 20-year friendship between Romain Le Quilleuc (La Madonna’s Food &
Beverage Manager) and Tanguay, who first met while studying hospitality in France, before their passion for drinks led them to Melbourne.

“The Louisiana has long been one of my favourite classic cocktails and felt like the perfect foundation for this collaboration,”
said Charbonnet.

“For this version, I wanted to create something unique while respecting the original structure of the drink. The cocktail is
built around The Gospel Whiskey and a custom sweet vermouth blend.

“Rather than following the traditional proportions, I chose to balance the rye and vermouth in equal parts before barrel ageing the cocktail, allowing the ingredients to integrate and develop additional depth and complexity over time.”

The Gospel Co-Founder Andrew Fitzgerald said: “La Madonna is known for its thoughtful approach to cocktails and that’s what made this collaboration such a natural fit. Tanguy has taken a classic American whiskey cocktail and reimagined it through a distinctly Melbourne lens.

“That’s something we relate to deeply at The Gospel. We took inspiration from the rye whiskeys that first got us hooked on the
category and set out to create something unmistakably Australian. I look forward to enjoying a few in the coming weeks.”

Alongside the new creative sip, The Gospel is rolling out a heavy-hitting roster of rye-focused events and menu takeovers
across Melbourne and beyond to mark the month.

Hi-Fi Rye July: The Gospel has teamed up with Next Wave and -TOPIA to host Hi-Fi Rye July. Taking over the atmospheric Brunswick Mechanics Institute on 12 and 26 July, these boutique afternoon listening sessions feature live music and
straight whiskey. Expect a rotating mix of live performances, curated sounds, and artists debuting new material in a relaxed,
questions-welcome format. Doors open at 2pm, with tickets available for $25 via thegospelwhiskey.com, which includes your
first drink.

Fill Your Own Bottle at Whisky & Alement: One of Rye July’s most anticipated annual rituals is back again this year. Melbourne’s Whisky & Alement, will host the fill-your-own-bottle experience. Guests can drop in throughout July to pull, fill, and label their own bottle of The Gospel straight from the cask.

Friday Night BBQ at Bossley: Every Friday in July from 5pm-7pm, Bossley is firing up a dedicated Rye July BBQ menu. It’s simple, unpretentious food that was built to be eaten with a whiskey in hand.

Rye July drinks menu takeovers: Throughout the month, selected venues across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, will run dedicated Rye July drinks menus, pouring two to four serves that spotlight The Gospel across cocktails, highballs and neat pours.

The full venue list is available at thegospelwhiskey.com.