IT’S DAY ONE OF GINVENT 2018! Here we go again for a third year running. Sorry liver. To kick things off we are trying If you’ve read my blog for the last two years you might have seen my two previous blogs on 58 Gin – their normal gin here and their navy strength here. In those posts you can learn more about 58 Gin, because today we are looking at their sloe gin, and you’d be forgiven for looking past this bottle to try to find the sloe gin. Sloe gins that we know and love are a rich, deep purple colour. This one? Not so much. Rather than seeping sloe berries in a bottle of gin as per the standard method, the berries are included in the distillation process which apparently allows all the flavour, but none of the colour. So, does it actually taste like a sloe gin?
58 gin
Ginvent 2017 – 58 Navy Strength Gin
It’s day 3 and today we are drinking 58 Navy Strength gin. Last year’s Ginvent calendar contained their regular gin (review and info here) so let’s see how this one fares. Fun fact: this is part of the launch of their Navy Strength gin, we’re some of the first people to try it wahoo! Continue reading
Ginvent 2016 – 58 Gin
Three gins left! Today’s gin in my Ginvent calendar is 58 Gin. I’ve followed them on Twitter for a while and have admired the bottle for a long time (we all know I love a good label). Made by Mark Marmont who became obsessed with gin after moving to London from Australia – or, more specifically, finding a gin he liked. After a few years of experimenting, he perfected 58 Gin – so called after his house number. Mixing traditional botanicals with the sweeter Sicilian lemon, pink grapefruit for balance and bourbon vanilla to round off the flavour, this gin is said to have a “crisp taste and a soft finish”.
Cracking open the bottle, it smells really nice. Fresh and zesty, it smells light and not too heavy. This could be the nice end to my working week, and the end to my hangover (if you read yesterday’s blog, it’s clear I wasn’t on top form and I regretted that this morning). Opened up in the glass, it smells very similar but with a bit more juniper coming to the front. It’s certainly zingy on the tongue. The hit of straight alcohol has woken me up. Mixing it with tonic, this is great. This could be a perfect every day gin. Thanks to heading Shirewards tomorrow, I have no fresh lemon in the house but I imagine this, or some grapefruit, would pick this up perfectly. Well balanced, a bit of juniper and a hit of citrus, this is right up my alley.
A 50cl bottle is available to buy on their website for £35. Now, I know this is a bit pricy for an everyday gin, but I like this and will be looking into getting a bottle post-Christmas.
You can find 58 Gin on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and check out my gin (and other things) related musings over on my Twitter and Instagram – and check out the last 21 days of Ginvent here.