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Whitby Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: The team at Whitby gin kindly sent me a sample to try, but I will always let you know what I think

Whitby ginWhat is Whitby Gin?
When I think of Whitby, I always think of Dracula, but it turns out the seaside town in North Yorkshire has more going for it than the place the Count landed in England. When Jess and Luke went on a camping trip to the Outer Hebrides in 2017, they were inspired by the amount of distilleries the islands housed, and Jess wondered why her hometown didn’t have one. Luckily, Jess has a background in business planning,  and Luke one in food manufacturing, so they had a bit of a head start on the process. They ordered a still before they even got home and decided on three key botanicals: heather (sustainably sourced from the North York Moors), sugar kelp (from Robin Hood Bay) and honey (bought raw from their local bee keeper). 45 trials later and they had found the perfect combination of botanicals to complement these, including juniper, coriander seed, citrus peels and liquorice root and so Whitby Gin was born. These are added to their copper column stills (Stanley, Stockwell and Scripps, obviously) with their grain spirit and distilled once before hand bottling and labelling their products. Since their launch, they have won a host of awards including winning the Best London Dry Gin (UK) at the 2019 World Gin Awards.

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Artisan Drinks Co.

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: The Artisan Drinks team sent me some samples to try, but I will always let you know what I really think.

Artisan Drinks Co.Who are The Artisan Drinks Co.?
The Artisan Drinks Co. started as all good partnerships start – when a group of people met in a bar. Steve, an entrepreneur who previously created Feel Good Drinks, and Alan, a Yorkshire based artists, met Mikey, an award winning bartender, and the Artisan Drinks Co. was formed. They created their drinks in the bar as accompaniments for their favourite spirits. They use 100% natural ingredients and produce in both the UK and Australia in some damn fine bottles. So what is their range?

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Nelson’s Gluggle Jug Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Craft Gin Club June boxWelcome to June and that means only one thing: Junipalooza time! Kidding (well, I’m not) but it is also time for a Craft Gin Club delivery. This box was literally larger than normal, but on opening it turns out we have a very fancy bottle inside that needs protecting – welcome to the world Nelson’s Gluggle Jug gin (try saying that five times). I’ve never tried Nelson’s gin before but I’ve long admired their bottles, and this is no exception. The bottle was made exclusively for this gin by Wade Ceramics who have been making ceramics since 1810. Inspired by the classic gluggle jug – so called for the sound it makes when you pour water from it – which is a Staffordshire icon, Nelson’s wanted to make a gin that would withstand the long summer evenings. Founder Neil experimented with various botanicals before settling on his recipe, then called in team Craft Gin Club to help him pick the best iteration. Botanicals that made the final cut include green cardamom, sweet orange, grapefruit, lemon, hibiscus, lime, pink peppercorn and star anise; lots of citrus up front complemented by the richer cardamom and spices. So, how does it taste?

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Glacier Fire Tonic

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Glacier Fire TonicNote: The team at Glacier Fire tonic sent me some samples to try, but as always I’ll let you know what I really think

What is Glacier Fire tonic?
Based in Iceland, Glacier Fire produce a range of tonic waters (alongside a host of soft drinks, spirits and beers) using glacier water which has trickled its way down the mountains towards Reykjavik. This water is naturally filtered as it comes down through lava fields and so is free of pollution. They use responsibly sourced, non-gm quinine from Africa and all their tonics are sugar free. Alongside an Indian tonic, they also make a fiery tonic (with chilli), elderflower tonic, volcanic tonic (ginger and cinnamon), botanic tonic, and a berry tonic (both of which I am trying today).

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Brentingby Gin Black Edition

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: Bruce at Brentingby  gin kindly sent me a sample to try, but all the opinions below are my own.

Brentingby gin bottleWhat is Brentingby gin?
Brentingby distillery sits in the Leicestershire countryside, distilling and bottling in Melton Mowbray (halfway between Leicester and Nottingham). The team came up with the idea to make their gin back in 2015, and after three years of development which involved training with master distiller Tom Nichol (of Tanqueray gin) and building a distillery with a 10 plate copper still, they made their first batch of gin in the summer of 2018. Bruce grew up on the Durban coastline of South Africa and wanted to bring this into his gin; they use hibiscus as ab botanical and a feature on the logo and they named their still Ayanda which is proliferation in Zulu. Ayanda is powered by sustainable wind energy from the wind turbine based next door and ties into their care for sustainability. Since the launch of their London dry gin, they have also released a pink gin (no raspberries here, instead they use rooibos and baobab) and the black edition gin that I am trying today. This gin features botanicals ginger, lime and meadowsweet – they say this brings spice and warmth, so how does it taste?

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Henstone Rosé Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: The team at Henstone Distillery kindly sent me a sample to try, but as always I will let you know that I think.

You might have previously seen my ramblings about Henstone Distillery‘s classic London dry gin and their navy strength gin, and today we are trying their rosé gin. Note the accent, it isn’t rose or sugary sweet, this instead is their gin taken off the still at 65% and put into American oak casks before being bottled. The ageing process imbues a light golden colour to the gin, as well as a “subtle vanilla flavour”. The ageing also brings this down to a more drinkable 44.9% ABV – the same as their London dry gin. The rosé gin recently was a runner up (and highest scorer for England) in the cask aged gin category for the Gin Guide awards – so, how does it taste?

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Henstone Navy Strength gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: Chris at Henstone Distillery kindly sent me a sample to try but as always, I’ll let you know my real thoughts.

For the avid readers, you might remember that I tried Henstone gin back when I first moved house, well now that time has moved on we are trying their navy strength offering. When Henstone Distillery set up shop in 2015, their goal was to make whisky. When they were collecting their still, they tasted the manufacturer’s gin and suddenly had a new goal (although, FYI, the whisky is currently in barrels and is available pre-order as it should be ready in January 2021). Their navy strength gin is bottled at 57.3% and uses juniper, coriander and citrus like their original gin along with angels wreath and cardamom plus some secret ingredients. So, how does this taste?

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Gin Bothy Gunshot infused gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: I contacted the Gin Bothy team about International Scottish Gin Day and they kindly sent me a sample to try, but as always I’ll let you know what I really think.

You might have seen my post about the original Gin Bothy, but today we try their Gunshot infused gin. This is proper small batch gin, they make just 38 bottles of this at a time which is distilled and infused for up to four months. They call this the “gin for whisky lovers”. Which is interesting for a country so steeped in whisky history – although the advantage being that this is rested for four months, not a minimum of three years. It opens an interesting debate around interchangeable spirits, but this is a debate that this blog doesn’t have the space for right now (or, frankly, the brain capacity or knowledge). The ‘gunshot’ they infuse their gin with is actually cinnamon, cloves and mixed spices (and it is worth noting this is bottled at 37.5% rather than the 41% of their original gin), they recommend filling your hip flask with this for a day’s hiking, or mixing it with ginger ale. I’m all about mixing gin with ginger, but how does it taste with classic tonic?

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Gin Bothy Original Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: I contacted the Gin Bothy team and they sent me a sample to try, but as always I’ll let you know what I really think.

What’s a bothy you ask? The Cambridge Dictionary says “(in Scotland) a small, simple building on a hill for walkers to shelter in, or one that is used on a farm for workers to live in”. The Gin Bothy team reflect on this history and heritage and pledged to keep this at the core of their work. They use traditional methods to make their gin, using local produce such as pine needles and heather – they also have a range of fruit gins that use Scottish berries and rhubarb as botanicals. The respect for the land around them doesn’t end there, £1 from every bottle sold is donated to the Woodland Trust to regenerate the local forests that supply them with their botanicals. Starting life by infusing gin with leftover fruit jams, their range is extensive but today we try their original gin. Here is where they use their pine needles and heather alongside milk thistle, hawthorn root and rosemary which they say invokes the memory of Scottish forests. So, how does it taste?

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HYKE gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

Note: I contacted Foxhole spirits when I heard about Hyke gin and they kindly sent me a bottle to try, but as always I will let you know what I really think.

As an avid reader, I know you’ll remember my review of Foxhole gin, and Foxhole spirits have gone on to create HYKE gin. Similar to Foxhole, they use surplus grapes to create their base spirit – did you know that around 713 tonnes of grapes are not suitable for consumption so would go to waste? Once the base spirit has been made, they distil this with botanicals inspired by their grapes’ African and South American roots – juniper, coriander, aniseed, rooibos, myrrh, bay leaf and lemon zest. All in all, a slightly random mix of botanicals, but they say this creates a gin that leads with sweet citrus before spice and ‘complex aromatics’ kick in. The gin, with its beautiful labels, will be exclusively available in Tesco as part of their commitment to cut food waste by one-fifth within a decade.

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