The Lakes Pink Grapefruit gin

Note: The team at The Lakes Distillery sent me a sample of their new gin to try, as always I’ll let you know what I think. This post contains affiliate links marked as [Ad], if you click on this and buy a bottle of gin then I will receive a small commission. 

The Lakes Distillery Pink Grapefruit ginAs you might have seen, just before Christmas I received a sample of the new Lakes Distillery gin following a tweak to their recipe and a serious upgrade to the bottle. Now the team have released their newest addition to the line up which takes inspiration from their favourite serve. When drinking a gin and tonic, I love to garnish it with a wedge of pink grapefruit, something that the team at The Lakes agree with. Bottled at 46% like their signature gin, this edition brings a big citrus hit to their traditional gin. The addition of the grapefruit brings a punch of flavour, with no added sugar or sweeteners, and they say no need for an additional garnish. So, how does it taste?

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Mackintosh Mariner Strength gin

Mackintosh Mariners Strength ginIf anyone follows me on social media, you’ll probably notice I have a little love affair with the Mackintosh gin family. I mean, I’m ginger and half-Scottish so I’m practically part of the family. I am a big fan of their London Dy gin which was launched last year, and so when they announced two new releases, I got very excited. The first is an Old Tom style gin with pineapple and grapefruit (the pineapple inclusion here worried me but I have been informed it is actually rather yummy), and the one we are trying today, the 59% ABV Mariner Strength gin. Made using the same botanicals as their London dry, but cut at the higher ABV (previously 42%), they say this is juniper led, with notes of elderflower, soft citrus and a hint of pepper. I’m a fan of Mackintosh gin, and I’m a fan of navy strength gins, so I have high hopes going into this one, so let’s see how it tastes.

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Blossom & Hops gin

Blossom & Hops ginBlossom & Hops gin, I think, is the first South African gin to find a place in my collection. Hailing from the suburbs of Cape Town, creator Tim James had to put a lot of work into his gin. In South Africa, you have to have your distillery built and ready to go before you can get your distilling license, so they distil offsite at the Hope Distillery. Tim wanted to make a gin using hops flowers, an ingredient not often seen but was featured in old Genever recipes, and he and his partner Teresa worked to incorporate this into a modern London dry gin. Mostly used in beer, one of my favourite gins from England – actually not too far from me – Mayfield Sussex Hop gin also features this botanical so I am interested to see how it compares. Their hops are complemented by lime blossom, lime leaves, juniper and coriander, but they say this results in a juniper forward gin. So, let’s see how it tastes.

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Zeiver gin

Note: James from Zeiver gin got in touch and offered to send me a bottle, as always I’ll let you know what I really think.

Zeiver ginZeiver gin gets my attention for two reasons. One, the monochromatic label, and two, the key botanicals are peach, pistachio and aloe vera. Part of me is intrigued, part of me is nervous. Launched earlier this year, Zeiver gin is a collaboration with Dr. John Walters (who is fancy and has a doctorate in biochemistry) and is the first spirit from the English Spirit Distillery based in Essex. Taking inspiration from Japanese spirits, their bespoke base spirit comes from polished rice which they say gives it an “ultra-smooth” palate. Alongside the three aforementioned botanicals, they also use the more traditional juniper berries, limes and grapefruits, plus apple, cherry and macadamia nuts. They describe their gin as “pure, straightforward and sincere” – indeed their name comes from the Dutch for pure – although I’m not convinced the botanical list embodies this, but let’s give it a go and see what we think.

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