Colombo No.7 Gin

Posted on March 29, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Note: I emailed Colombo 7 to ask for a sample for the blog and they kindly sent me a WHOLE BOTTLE. Big fan already, but as always I’ll let you know if I don’t like the taste.

Colombo No.7 is a London Dry Gin with a Sri Lankan influence. Using seven botanicals – four of which are native to Sri Lanka (Cinnamon Bark, Curry Leaves, Ginger Root and Coriander Seeds) which combine with a base of juniper, liquorice and angelica to “create a beautifully balanced, subtly spiced gin”. I’m hoping this is a good type of spiced gin, not a bad one. 70 years ago, this shocked British Export Officers into passing a law allowing gin to be made in South Asia, and now the recipe is being used to make small batch gin.

Cracking open the seal and popping open the cork it smells like cardamom – slightly spiced. As cardamom is not apparently a botanical, I imagine this is from the curry leaves and cinnamon. It smells warm and comforting. In the glass, the smell mellows slightly and mixed with water it has a good flavour to it. It is earthy but not too deep, quite refreshing. You know that feeling when you have a mint then breathe in and your tongue goes a bit tingly? Imagine that. But more cinnamony.

Mixing it up with some Fever Tree Indian Tonic (I’ve just run 5 miles so I’m allowed the full sugar version), the bitterness from the tonic helps bring out the juniper taste and it tones down the curry-like flavours. It has a slight sweetness at the back of the throat which helps to balance out the flavours. It was slightly jarring at first, but now I’m a few sips in I’m quite enjoying it. I’m not certain this would be my gin of choice on a gloomy evening in Hove, but this would go down a treat on a hot afternoon in the Asian sunshine.

A 43% bottle of Colombo gin is currently (sold out) £32.95 on Master of Malt. I’m not sure I’d pay over the £30 mark for this, but it’s something a bit different for the gin cabinet. You can follow Colombo on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Have you tried Colombo Gin? Let me know on Twitter and Instagram.

McQueen Gin

Posted on March 21, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Note: I emailed McQueen Gin for a sample for the blog and Dale McQueen kindly sent one. As always, if I don’t like it I will say so.

McQueen Gin is another new Scottish Gin (because I’m Scottish and hate whiskey much to my Dad’s disappointment so I’m drinking lots of Scottish gin to make up for it) made at Trossachs Distillery in Callander. The distillery opened in July 2015, with four gins launching in June 2016: Mint Chocolate Gin, Sweet Citrus Gin, Smokey Chilli and Dry Gin – the version I have today. They launched the new Spiced Chocolate Orange gin earlier this year. Now to be clear, these are not flavoured gin liqueurs, these are proper 42% clear gins. Each batch is hand made and bottled from their distillery – in beautiful bottles may I add, the full size bottles are hand poured cobalt blue ceramic bottles. Sadly my taster bottle isn’t quite as pretty.

Smelling it from the bottle it certainly smells dry and predominately juniper – we’re off to a good start. In the glass it smells a bit stronger, with a definite kick to it and mixed with water it tastes like a good strong gin. Juniper heavy with a hint of citrus, this feels like a classic gin. Slightly perfumed, the taste lingers for a while.

Mixing it into a G&T with Regency Tonic (which, coincidentally is produced three roads away from my flat and is utterly light and delicious), this surprised me (I admit, this might be the introduction of a new tonic or the gin or both). It is very light on the tongue, with the juniper toned down but still at the forefront of the flavour on the back of the tongue. The edges are laced with citrus and spice (and everything nice). This gin has surprised me. Imagine a classic gin and tonic, with a whole load of new surprises to it. Not cloying enough to not want another, and certainly surprising enough to come back for a second.

A 50cl bottle of the signature Dry Gin is currently £29.95 on Master of Malt. I think you should grab a bottle. And find some Regency Tonic while you’re at it. You can find McQueen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have you tried McQueen gins? What do you think? Let me know on Twitter and Instagram.

Persie Gin

Posted on March 16, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

I emailed Persie Gin to ask for a sample for then blog and Tim kindly sent me a sample of their Herby and Aromatic Gin – as always you’ll know if I don’t like it. What I do really like are their postcards that come with their gin.

Persie Gin hails from Glenshee in the highlands of Perthshire (in the huge Cairngorms National Park right in the middle of Scotland). Persie’s leaflet that I received states that 70% of the gin consumed in the UK is made in Scotland – and I’m not surprised. More and more distilleries are opening in Scotland (I refer you once more to the WSTA gin trail of Scotland) with Persie opening just one year ago in March 2016. They already have three gins to their name: 42% Zesty Citrus full of limes and blood orange; 43% Sweet and Nutty with hints of vanilla, butterscotch and almonds; and the one I’m trying today, Herby and Aromatic (40%) with bay, rosemary and basil. I’m noticing a trend in gins towards a more savoury serve, many gins are now recommending rosemary as a garnish so I’m intrigued to see how this gin stands up. Persie focus on the aroma of the gin – with 75% of flavour coming from the smell they placed an emphasis on creating gins that smell and taste good. They say “a simple sniff of Persie Gin can cause a flood of warm and fuzzy feelings”. We’ll see about that. But then they do say “We nose our gin” and I bloody love a terrible pun so I’m on board.

Opening the bottle it certainly smells savoury, my amateur gin nose can certainly sense that it uses herbs as a botanical – a smell that opens up in the glass. Mixed with a touch of water, the aromatic-ness of the gin comes to life. That is a MIGHTY smell to it. The smell is stronger than the taste when you first get it on your tongue, but once you’ve swallowed it and taken a breath your mouth comes alive. It tastes slightly like when you aren’t paying attention when cooking and throw in a lot more herbs than intended. Not unpleasant, but something is a little out of balance. At 40% it has a fair bit of bite to it as well.

Mixed with some light Fever Tree (having just been for a 5k run I’m being healthy and all that…) the overpowering herbyness tones down and mixes well with the dry tonic. They suggest garnishing it with some basil leaves. I obviously do not have this in my kitchen as I am an underprepared gin blogger. However, I do have (dried) bay leaves, and as this is a botanical I gave it a google and am being experimental. I will not hold this against the gin if this doesn’t work. As it turns out, a dried bay leaf doesn’t make much difference.

A bottle of the Herby and Aromatic gin is currently on sale for £26.65 on Master of Malt. This is not my favourite gin, but I should have guessed this as I know I like dry, citrusy gins. Whilst I don’t hate it, I’m not certain I’d want more than one of them, so I’m glad it’s not up in the £40 price bracket. It does definitely deliver on their promise of a big smell – the smell, particularly when straight, really emphasises the herbs and adds another dimension to the taste. You can find Persie on Facebook and Twitter.

Have you tried Persie Gin? Or their other flavours? Let me know what you think on Twitter and Instagram.

Tinker Gin

Posted on March 11, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

A bit of history about me: one of my first jobs was working in financial events. We were organising events about investment when crowdfunding came along. A game changer for small businesses, I actually helped to write one of the first books on crowdfunding (also an Amazon number one bestseller, available here if you’re interested in seeing my name in print). How is this relevant to gin you ask? Well a few months ago I saw that a new gin was launching via a crowdfunding campaign. I had a nosy. I spent £20. And here we are. Two small bottles of gin, two copa glasses, some extra treats and a nice mini-certificate. I should point out that one of my glasses arrived smashed (see picture) but they have been very lovely and are sending me a new one as I type.

Tinker is a British made, Spanish style gin. After beating their target and raising over £17,000 in just 28 days, they have now launched with their non-juniper heavy gin. I’m worried slightly. I really like the dryness that comes with juniper. Filled with botanicals such as orange, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg and elderberries, Tinker are aiming for a classic gin with a contemporary twist.

As I received two 5cl samples, I’m going for the Ginvent approach – sniffing it, having it straight then as a G&T. No watering it down. Cracking open my little bottle it smells almost like a perfume – citrusy but not in an overpowering way and slightly floral – or as the boy describes it “softly fruity”. In the glass, it’s sharper (again I imagine from the citrus) and very fresh. Sipping it neat it’s certainly alcoholic, but the juniper isn’t as pronounced as usual. It’s very fresh and bold with the flavours, with a slight spiciness at the front of the tongue. Boy’s verdict? “It doesn’t taste as it smells but it’s still quite easy to drink”. Mixing it with tonic (Fever Tree Light) this is really good. I was worried as I know it’s less focused on the juniper than a typical London Dry, but this is really light and fresh. Still feels like a gin, but it’s very bright. It’s light, but still drying (my favourite part of a gin). It’s made the boy go for a second mouthful which is unusual. He seems to think it tastes smokey – it has a lingering taste. I don’t quite agree but I LOVE this,

Tinker Gin are available exclusively at GinFestival, where a 40% bottle of gin is £35 (at time of writing) which I really think is a good price. Considering it is a new gin to the market who were bought to market by crowdfunding, this really is a cracking gin. You can find Tinker Gin on Twitter and Facebook.

Are you a fellow investor? Get in touch on Twitter and Instagram.

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

Posted on March 6, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

It’s the best time of year again – my Craft Gin Club delivery arrived! Another bumper box includes a full bottle of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, a bottle of Peter Spanton No. 9 Cardamom Tonic, New York Delhi Wasabi Peas, Butler’s Milk Chocolate Irish Cream Truffle Bar and, if there’s any room left, Ten Acres Sweet and Sour Crisps. After my tumble down the stairs the other week, this was finally a ray of sunshine. Can we also take a moment to talk about how beautifully designed this month’s copy of Ginned is? Mostly just for the cracking travel photos. Which leads nicely into the gin – based in Ireland with botanicals from around the world, this gin is the brainchild of Patrick J. Rigney. Whilst travelling in Morocco, he discovered Chinese Gunpowder green tea. Blended with grapefruits from Indonesia, kaffir limes from Cambodia, juniper from Macedonia, and caraway seed and cardamom from India, this gin’s botanical list is basically my travel bucket list. I’m fully expecting a big, bold gin with this one – anything that crams so many flavours in to one bottle is never going to be dull.

Opening the bottle and pulling out the branded cork, it smells gentler than I anticipated, but opened up in the glass it hits you. Big, bold and zesty it hits your nostrils with a bam. Loosened up with some water, it is more savoury than I anticipated. It’s quite deep in flavour and heavy but not too oaky. A hint of spice at the edges but with a lightness at the front of the tongue.

I decided it would be rude to not try it with the tonic provided (which on its own is very yummy and exciting, slight hints of curry from the cardamom but the lightness of the tonic, I wouldn’t normally drink tonic on its own but this tastes really exciting) and the cardamom from the tonic highlights the more exotic flavours and it tastes absolutely nothing like a normal gin and tonic. I’m suddenly really gutted that I was too lazy to go buy a lime to garnish this with. It’s not too heavy, but also not too “strange” – we know from ginvent I’m not a massive fan of overly flavoured gins but this one has a good balance to it. It’s different to your usual tipple, and I imagine will work well with normal tonic, ginger beer or in a cocktail to add some depth of flavour. At first taste I wasn’t sure of this, but the more I drink the more I’m used to the flavour. I really like the little hit of citrus at the back of your throat which helps to lighten the drink.

You can find a bottle of the 43% gin on Master of Malt for £31.50 (at time of writing). My opinion – invest in a bottle. It will spice up your evenings without being too wacky. You can get in touch with Drumshanbo on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

So what do you think? Let me know on Twitter and Instagram.

The Lakes Gin

Posted on February 25, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Note: I emailed the Lakes Distillery asking for a sample and they kindly sent a bottle over – as always, you’ll know if I’m not impressed.

The Lakes Gin hails from – I bet you can guess – the Lake District. The distillery (which also features a Bistro and distillery tour) is nestled above Bassenthwaite Lake in a Victorian model farm. Water feeds down from Scafell Pike and they started with a blended whisky. Their range now includes a gin, a vodka and a single malt whisky. But we’re here for the gin. Made with 13 botanicals local to the Lake District, the gin features flavours including bilberry, heather and meadowsweet. They say the gin is “big, clear fresh citrus, fruity and floral” – that’s a lot of adjectives, so let’s see how it lives up.

Straight from the bottle it certainly smells big, fresh and citrusy. In the glass the juniper comes to the front and, mixed with water this is lovely. Very smooth and easy to drink, there is a slight sweetness on the front of the tongue, a herbal savoury note to the sides and a crisp finish at the back. No chemical or alcohol burn which is nice! There is a slight kick to it, but this is (I imagine) from it being distilled at 43.7% – slightly higher than the average gin.

Made into a gin and tonic (back to Fever Tree to celebrate the move into the new flat) and this is a delight. It is light and fresh, the citrus tones are at the front but are not overwhelming. It is very smooth and easy to drink, and leaves your mouth with a dryness that leaves you wanting more. This to me is a perfect gin and tonic, the classic drink. It is fresh but dry. Adding a slice of lemon brings out the citrus notes without making it too much. I am a BIG fan.

You can get a bottle of The Lakes Gin from their shop for £29.95 for a 70cl bottle, and for this price it may well be my new every day gin! Give them a follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (and a whole load more social networks but I’m old and don’t understand the others).

Let me know your thoughts on Lakes Gin over on Twitter and Instagram.

Mews Gin

Posted on February 13, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Note: I contacted the team at Mews Gin to see if they wanted to send me a sample for the blog and they were kind enough to send me one. As always, you’ll know if I’m not a fan.

Mews Gin is a new artisan distillery set up in the heart of Surrey using the combined skill of founding brothers Richard and Daniel Mew. After two years of researching and experimenting with recipes and distilling, they had their final product in 2014 – just in time for a family wedding. Daniel is an engineer bringing technical skills and precision to the process and Richard brings his business experience to form their team – and a gin that combines “the vibrancy of youth with the subtlety of maturity”. Whilst I don’t fully understand that sentence, I think this is reflecting in their branding – the bottle label feels both modern and classic. But what about the gin? All of the classic botanicals are joined with pink peppercorn, lavender and cubeb berries. They vapour distil their gin – costing more in time and money – but they think this is key to making a lighter, more subtle gin.

Cracking open my little bottle it smells nice and citrusy, a smell which sticks when mixed with water in a glass. Straight up this doesn’t taste like 38%. Very smooth and very easy to drink, there’s a hint of juniper and a hint of citrus. Not really getting the peppercorn but there is a lightness that I associate with flowery gins which I presume comes from the lavender. There is no alcohol burn as it goes down – a sign of a good gin!

Mixed into a simple gin with two parts tonic (sadly still Tesco) this is different to usual. It tastes like a classic gin, but just at the back of your throat you get a sudden hit of flavour. I can’t fully describe what it is, but either way this is fresh and zingy (yes, I went for zingy). It has woken me up after my long day at work and 5k run and I imagine this little bottle won’t be lasting very long.

A bottle of the 38% gin is currently available on Master of Malt for £31.95 (although also currently sold out) and I would snap this up, pronto! This has the flavour and characteristics of a much more expensive bottle, so if you can snaffle it for under £32 then grab it while you can. You can get in touch with Mews on Twitter and Facebook.

Have you tried Mews Gin? Let me know what you think on Twitter and Instagram.

Esker Gin

Posted on February 7, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Note: I emailed Esker gin asking for a sample for the blog and they were kind enough to send me some. As always, you’ll know if I don’t like it

Scotland might well be best known for its whisky, but the Scottish craft gin scene is booming (WSTA conveniently put together a tasting map of Scotland for anyone looking to visit some of their distilleries). Esker Spirits is one of these new distilleries set up in October 2015 and is the first in Scotland to use silver birch sap as a botanical. Esker takes it name from “a long ridge, typically having a winding course, created by a glacier” – a sight reflected in their local geography in Royal Deeside, home to Balmoral Castle nonetheless. Developed over a two year period (with lots of experimentation) Esker settled on a recipe of over a dozen botanicals – including their silver birch sap tapped from the Kincardine Castle Estate which adds a touch of sweetness to the gin.

I’m in love with the label of this gin – simple, clean and elegant. Designed to reflect their local area, its a modern look with a nod to tradition and heritage and including mountains, rivers, castle and juniper berries. Popping the cork, it’s a lovely smell that comes out. Reminiscent of the outdoors – not in a heavy, oaky way, but in a fresh meadow kind of way. The juniper leads the way once it is opened up in the glass. Mixed with a spash of water (tap, not fresh Scottish mountain water unfortunately) it is well balanced with flavours – a slight peppery taste at the front of the tongue and a very smooth finish. A savoury, floral note reaches the back of the nose (can floral be savoury?). Either way, it’s good.

Pouring out a proper measure and mixing it with tonic (sadly all I have in the house is Tesco), this caused me to say “ooh?” and look at the glass I had just put down. It is full of flavour without being over the top. You can certainly get hints of juniper and a certain freshness – and a sweet tinge to it which comes from the silver birch sap. I was worried it would be one of those gins where they add a wacky botanical and it ends up a bit grim, but I like this a lot.

Steve from Esker saw how much I hate orange and said that whilst garnished with orange zest is nice, he also recommends grapefruit or rosemary – but more importantly also says that they don’t enforce a certain serve and it’s up to the consumer to decide how they like it. YES! A real bugbear is a brand trying to enforce their way of serving your gin to you. So, having gone and bought a grapefruit especially for this moment, I add a small piece of zest and this highlights the citrus notes – plus the smell from it adds another dimension to the tasting experience. I also can see rosemary working well if you prefer a more savoury finish.

Esker Gin seems to be tricky to find outside of Scotland at the moment, but you can get it online from The Good Spirits Co for £36 a bottle (although out of stock at the time of writing – don’t worry, they’re in the process of moving to larger facilities to keep up with demand). I like this, I would definitely pay £36 for it. Plus the bottle will look beautiful on your shelf. You can also get in touch with Esker on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have you tried Esker gin? Let me know your thoughts over on Twitter and Instagram.

Cotswolds Gin

Posted on January 28, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

Note: I emailed them for a sample for the blog and Zoe kindly replied and sent one to me. Then sent me another one when the first got lost in the post. But as always, if I don’t like it, you’ll know about it.

Cotswolds Gin hails from the Cotswolds (funnily enough) but is the brainchild of native New Yorker Dan Szor. They’re committed to keep it local – the barley and malt is produced within a 50 mile radius for their whisky and the botanicals for the gin are locally sourced. They produce a huge range of products now – their dry gin, a hedgerow gin, a barrel aged gin, espresso martini, sherry, cream liqueur… The list goes on. The Cotswolds Dry Gin mixes lavender, bay leaf, grapefruit, lime and black pepper. I’m hoping for something full of flavour and hopefully well balanced – otherwise it will be awful!

Twisting the cap off you get a citrus smell with a spiced tinge. Good start. Pouring it into the glass releases a great smell into the room. I only have a 50ml sample so I’m just trying it straight with no water, and boy does that wake you up. The freshness from the citrus meets a small kick of spice at the tip of the tongue. Mixed with a good measure of Fevertree tonic, this is different. The spiced tones come forward and balance out the zestiness from the citrus. It’s balanced but full of flavour. This tastes nothing like I expected it to, and I like it. Enough flavour to make you interested and get your tastebuds going, but not over the top or chemically. I’m a fan of this. Normally I’d add a lemon wedge, but as they use lime as a botanical I throw a slice in. The lime enhanced the citrus whilst toning back the spice. Whilst I like this, I think perhaps on its own is just as nice!

A bottle of Cotswolds Dry Gin is currently on Master of Malt for £34.95. I think this is pretty fair, especially if you want something livelier to add to your collection. They’re available to contact on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have you tried Cotswolds Gin? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram.

Anno Kent Dry Gin

Posted on January 19, 2017December 12, 2023 by jennyinbrighton

My aunt got me a cracking Christmas present: tubes of gin. Specifically Chilgrove gin (already tried, review here), Mason’s Gin (coming soon) and Anno Kent Dry Gin.

Anno Gin hails from Kent (funnily enough) and I’ve seen them in various places but never given them a try. At Anno, they blend traditional botanicals with locally sourced lavender from the award winning Downderry Nursery, elderflower, rose hips and samphire. I’m expecting floral and slightly… salty? It certainly sounds like it packs in the flavour; the tasting notes on their website says it starts with juniper, moving to citrus and sweet spice – a flavour that grows as you drink it. Apparently it is “bold and long” (oo-er) with leafy herbal notes. It’s blended with hops so I’m expecting it to be slightly earthy amongst the other flavours.

Cracking open the tube (I should point out I have a bit of a blocked nose) it certainly smells floral and herbal. Tinges of walks in fields, light and fresh. I have a 50ml sample so I’m going to go for the Ginvent style of tasting – no mixing it with water. In the glass it smells headier and the juniper becomes more prominent. It’s slightly silky on the tongue, the taste certainly grows. Slightly sweet at the front, developing to a bolder flavour at the back of the tongue. I can also detect a slight saltiness which contrasts – and compliments – the woodier tones.

Alas, I only have a smidge of Fever Tree left, so it’s back to Tesco tonic. Sadly, the tonic slightly drowns the gin, but hints of flowers come through. With tonic, I can’t sense the soft spicy notes, but it is fresh and citrusy and a great post-run pick me up! (Training for my 10k run is going great btw…). Throwing in some lemon slices, it helps to bring the citrus flavours to the front. I’m not overwhelmed by this, but I think if I mixed it with a drier Fever Tree tonic it would help enhance the flavours.

A bottle of 43% Anno gin is currently £31.20 on Master of Malt which is pretty fair considering it’s from a microdistillery (Kent’s first in 200 years nonetheless). I’m certainly going to give this another go. You can get in touch with Anno via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have you tried Anno? What do you think? Let me know on Twitter and Instagram.

Jenny in Brighton

I'm Jenny and I live in Brighton

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