Daffy’s gin came about after four years of experimenting. The result: a base of pure wheat grain from northern France which is then distilled in a single batch copper pot with unique botanicals such as Lebanese mint and a rare variety of lemons. They decided to bottle the gin at 43.4% – higher than the average 37.5% gin. They believe that this is the perfect level, any higher and the alcohol overtakes the botanicals, any weaker and the complexity of the gin is diluted. It sounds like a complex gin, they say it has notes of citrus, mint, toffee, caramel and chocolate. I’m concerned this might be a bit too much for my liking. They also have a very specific way they recommend serving their D&T (Daffy’s and Tonic) – it involves a lot of lime and ice (see it here). Before I give it a go, I’d like to thank Orla for giving me a sample from her bottle – make sure you check out her ridiculous dachshund puppies here.

Opening my bottle it smells quite gentle, juniper and pine come to the front with a hint of citrus but it doesn’t hit you in the face like some gins. In the glass, it stays subtle and there’s no predominant flavour. A sip of it straight and the higher ABV is instantly obvious, but it’s smooth with an almost creamy texture and a hint of resinous pine. I should point out I am not following their strict instructions because a) I don’t like being told how to make my gin and b) it turns out I don’t have any limes in the house and am too tired to go buy one. #prepared. So instead I am mixing it with a Fentimans normal tonic water. Which works really well. It has a hint of sherbet sweetness to it, and I definitely think a lime wedge or two would make this stand out, and indeed a lemon slice jazzes this right up. This is delightful. It’s really summery and light, a perfect pick me up after a long few days. The tartness of the added lemon slice counter balances the sweetness to make a well balanced gin. Can I taste the caramel and chocolate? No. But I’m ok with that. Well done team.

You can buy a 70cl bottle of Daffy’s for £35.20 on Master of Malt (at time of writing) which I think is pretty fair. It’s a good gin, and I’m glad it’s not sitting up around the £40 mark, although personally I think I’d buy it if it was around the £30 level (but that’s just my bank balance, you go right ahead, treat yo self). You can find Daffy’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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