Not going to lie – I’ve never heard of today’s gin. After a bit of research, it turns out Napue Gin is a small batch gin from the Finnish Kyro Distillery Company using rye grain as the base spirit. This gin won the inaugural IWSC Gin & Tonic trophy, so fingers crossed it’s good! (Side note: I was telling boy about this gin and pronouncing it in a variety of ways, then it appeared on Sunday Brunch and is apparently pronounced “Nap-we”. So there we go.)

The bottling notes say it is “nose rich in meadow sweet, citrus, cumin and juniper” – hinting at a tangy and spicy flavour. Combined with the rye base, I’m expecting an earthy tone to the gin. Giving it a good sniff, it certainly smells earthy. Deep and cinnamon-y, it smells very nice.

It’s tangy on the front of the tongue, with a smokey taste lingering in your mouth. It’s ever so slightly sweeter than I thought it would be. Mixed with tonic the sweetness comes out a bit more. It’s quite drying, but this simply means you need another mouthful. Oh what a shame. This is a treat. It’s slightly more special than your standard gin, but ‘normal’ enough to have an evening of it. Plus a bit. Not too shabby for day 11.

You can buy a bottle of Napue Gin on Masters of Malt for £34.95 – which I think is pretty reasonable – and they’re over on Facebook here and over on Instagram.

Have you heard of Napue Gin? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter or Instagram!

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