September is upon us. Bring on cooler days and cosy knitwear. And with this change of season, comes the autumnal Craft Gin Club offering – a special edition gin from Roundwood gin.
craft gin
The King of Soho gin review
Note: I was sent this gin free of charge to review here, but as always my thoughts remain impartial. There is also an affiliate link at the end which means I get a miniscule payment if you order gin via that link.
I’ve seen The King of Soho gin around before – the blue bottle with gold lettering stands out on a back bar. I also have a feeling I might have tried it before in a pub, but this is the first time I’ve taken a proper look at it. Back in 2013, Alex Robson and Howard Raymond decided they wanted to make a gin to celebrate Howard’s father. Paul Raymond was known for his risqué shows in the heart of Soho, and they designed this spirit to be as vibrant as he was. Continue reading
Distillerie 3 Lacs Lemon Sunflower Gin
We’ve made it to June! There’s a heatwave, the sun is shining, I’m working crazy hours. It’s all good. June also brings not only World Gin Day, but also my next delivery from Craft Gin Club. I’m looking forward to this delivery as it’s not just a gin I haven’t tried, but also a brand I haven’t heard of before. Double win. Continue reading
York Gin Jorvik Spring
It’s March and my Craft Gin Club box arrived and I’m actually opening it vaguely on time! This month’s gin is from York Gin – and whilst I’m not usually keen on anything that involves lots of floral botanicals, I’ve never had a dud from them so fingers crossed! If you know *anything* about York gin, you’ll know just how important the city is to their gin – from the historical behind their botanicals to the design of the label. This gin is no exception. Continue reading
Graveney Festive Fayre gin
Before you even start, yes this is late. This is a look at December’s Craft Gin Club offering. But with #GinPalsGinvent and trying to not open new bottles of gin until some nearly empty ones had been cleared, I’m only just getting round to this. ANYWAY. This is Graveney gin’s Festive Fayre gin from Tooting in South London.Highclere Castle gin – Interview
Last week I posted about Highclere Castle gin (if you missed this, you can catch up here). I wanted to learn more so snagged myself a quick Q&A with co-founder Adam von Gootkin…
Can you give us a quick introduction to yourself
Hi, I’m Adam von Gootkin, co-founder of Onyx Spirits Co., an award-winning craft distillery producing New England’s first whiskey. In 2017, I partnered with the 8th Earl & Countess of Carnarvon, the owners of Highclere Castle, creating the Highclere Castle Cigar Company. This partnership grew and in 2019 we launched Highclere Castle gin.
Highclere Castle gin
Note: I was sent a bottle of Highclere Castle gin to try, but all thoughts below are completely my own
If you’re a fan of period drama, you might have seen Downton Abbey and so will be familiar with Highclere Castle. Now, I have to admit that isn’t really my cup of tea, but growing up in Hampshire I knew of the place. Well known for world class entertainment, they wanted to produce (in their words) the finest gin in the world. So, no pressure there.
Social Gin
It’s September! For some people that means back to school time, or holiday time (which is actually also me), but it mostly means it is Craft Gin Club delivery time! This month’s gin is a lockdown project from Viki Baird and Pat O’Brien in Dublin. The roots of Social gin started long ago when Pat first tried to set up a distillery in Dublin, but sadly weren’t able to secure the necessary funds to get the project up and running. Pat never gave up on the idea, and when they found their plot in Dublin 8, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with it.
From day one, Pat and Viki had three goals for their brand: one, to be modern and use cutting edge technology; two, to be as sustainable as possible; and three, to do good for their local community. From this, Stillgarden Distillery was born. In front of their distillery, they worked hard to build a community garden – what is now known as the Social Botanist Project. They grow a number of their own botanicals and encourage the local community to get involved with their garden as well as teaching them to cultivate their gardens at home. The botanicals in this gin include lavender, mint, rowan berry and rosehip alongside classics juniper, lime peel, lemon zest and cubeb.
Astraea Meadow gin
I’ve been very quiet recently on the blog, mostly because I got myself a new job which keeps me very busy during the week and I’m trying to have a real social life so not had time to sit down and do any proper gin tasting for a while. I mean, I’ve definitely had gin, but not in a sit down in front of my computer and make notes kinda way. But that changes today because I got my quarterly Craft Gin Club subscription! This month includes a gin I’ve never heard of – Astraea gin.
Distilled in Seattle, Craft Gin Club is providing the platform for their UK launch. Founded by Danielle Leavell, the gin might be made in America, but is Scottish in spirit. After failing to find adequate courses that would teach her the art of distilling in America, she was accepted onto Heriot-Watt’s Brewing and Distilling Masters of Science – one of only seven women in her year of just 50 students.
During her time in Scotland, she saw the emergence of hyper-local gins that are based on foraging botanicals from their local area. She took this ethos home to Seattle and created four gins, each named after a landscape of the Pacific Northwest. This edition, the Meadow gin, is inspired by Paradise meadow at the foot of Mount Rainier – a meadow full of wildflowers. Here she decided on her botanical list including: chamomile; rosehip; lemon verbena; honeysuckle; and lemon balm.
Shivering Mountain Early Harvest gin
Happy March! The evenings are getting brighter and, for me at least, it’s Craft Gin Club delivery time! This month’s box contains a special edition of Shivering Mountain gin (for a full view of box contents, check out my reel here). Hailing from the Peak District, founder Nick Malaczynski set up his distillery near Mam Tor.
Officially named for “Mother Hill”, Mam Tor is also known as Shivering Mountain due to the soft limestone deposits that wash away and move during rainy periods, giving the mountain the illusion of moving and shivering. The landscape doesn’t just inspire their name. The beautiful bottle features the landmass itself in the base, along with the textured glass refracting the light, and the base being embossed with the co-ordinates of Mam Tor’s summit.