Day 2 is here (again, a bit late because I went to see a musical…) and bestows upon us the Merchant Strength version of Strane Gin. Made by the established Smögen Whisky distillery on the west coast of Sweden, batches are made in a 100 litre still making it very small batch indeed. The Merchant Strength gin is bottled at 47.4% – if that’s not enough for you they also produce a Navy Strength (57.1%) and an eye watering 76% Uncut Strength. Even I think that sounds like a bad idea waiting to happen!
Smelling it from the bottle, it’s not as strong as yesterday’s Half Hitch gin. Boy think’s it is fruitier, I’m less convinced. Mostly because I’m not sure what a fruity gin would be like.
Tasting it, it has more of a kick to it on the tongue but a more rounded flavour than Half Hitch. The flavour feels more complex and slightly smokey – a flavour I image that is coming from their whisky heritage. Boy thinks the flavour is “harsher and more short lived”. I have no idea what he is talking about, he isn’t a gin drinker. Sticking with the trusty Tesco tonic (obviously not because I’m drinking multiple day’s gin in one night), it’s not quite as smooth as I thought it might be. I think the deeper notes are staying, making it heavier than a normal gin and tonic. My favourite thing about a G&T is that it is light and refreshing. I like a dry drink more than anyone, but this isn’t a dryness so much as a depth. Nosing on their website shows the botanicals include mint, basil and sage alongside almonds. This explains the savoury edge.
Strane Gin’s Merchant Strength costs £39.45 for a 50ml bottle over on Masters of Malt (at time of writing). Personally, I’m not convinced this is the gin for me. But I’ve also only had a small tasting and I’m sure I could change my mind after a second serving (as I often do). They are also available on Twitter.
What do you think of the Swedish export? Let me know on Twitter and check out some photos on Instagram.
Welcome to the first day of Ginvent (although this is published late as I stupidly planned to be out on December 1st)! We’re kicking off December with Half Hitch Gin. Camden Lock, 1869, the former home of London’s gin distilleries is the home of Half Hitch. Reinvigorating the London gin scene and reliving history, Half Hitch takes its name from the rope knot used to tie barges to the lock – barges that used to convoy the gin around the world.
As Ginvent only supplies a 30ml sample of gin, the tastings of these gins will be a little different (and as you can see, shorter) than usual. Not wasting time or gin with trying it with water, it’s straight to the gin and tonic.
Straight from the bottle it smells very juniper heavy. Boy joined me for this tasting, he doesn’t drink a lot of gin. “Would it be wrong to say it smells like a sharp tasting haribo?” Brilliant. There’s not enough to mix with water so we’re going for it straight, then with tonic. On the tongue it’s strong and heavy on flavour, quite deep and earthy. Boy says “well, it doesn’t TASTE like sharp tasting haribo”. So there’s that.
With tonic (Tesco Indian tonic) it’s very palatable, or as boy called it “inoffensive”. Not floral, and not citrusy. Very easy to drink and quite light. After the earthy tones from having it straight, I wasn’t expecting it to be this fresh.
A 70cl bottle of the 40% Half Hitch is available on Master of Malt for £39.95 (at time of writing).i think there’s something nice about the simplicity of this gin, and if you’re looking for a better everyday gin than your standard mainstream brands I think this is a good shout.
-A slightly different version of this blog is available on the Brighton Girl website. We attended the Gin Festival for free to blog about it and I jumped at the chance because I hadn’t been quick enough to buy a ticket-
There are currently over 600 different active gin brands in the world. Gin has recently been going through a resurgence, with the Wine and Spirit Trade Association predicting that sales of gin in Britain would reach new highs of £1 billion by the end of 2016. Making the most of this trend is married couple Jym and Marie, the heroes that set up Gin Festival. When they headed to Brighton and invited us along, we rushed down to the Clarendon Centre to drink ALL THE GIN (please remember to drink responsibly).
On arrival we each got a branded copa glass (the best way to drink gin IMO) and a brilliant guide to all of the gins on offer. After a quick perusal, we headed upstairs to get trying. We went straight to the Brockmans stand to have a chat to their team. Brockmans use blueberries, blackberries and liquorice to create a unique tasting gin that has a sweetness from the berries and a tartness from the liquorice. I’ve tried this before and I wasn’t a massive fan so the team on the stand suggested mixing it with ginger ale. This cancels out the sweeter notes and makes it a warming wintery drink and super yummy.
Popping to the stand next door we tried a gin I’ve never heard of – Sir Robin of Locksley. A quick taster led us downstairs to distiller John’s masterclass. Mixing it with elderflower tonic whilst we hear about the history of gin, we also have a chat about why Brexit is affecting gin prices (sob). Created as a sipping gin, the main botanicals are elderflower, pink grapefruit and dandelion – again the balance between the sweet and the tart works really well.
After all the samples, we decided it was only about right to get a proper gin. Heading to Bar A (the Dry Gin bar) we plumped for a Slingsby Gin and a Silent Pool. Silent Pool is wonderful, causing Catriona to say “where have you been my whole life?”. Slingsby Gin stunned me to silence (momentarily) – clean and fresh with a hit of citrus fruit. Bar B gave us some unusual flavours in the form of Wild Mermaid Gin – a slightly salty edge from the rock samphire picked from a secret location on the Isle of Wight – and Wicked Wolf – a new gin from Exmoor which is strong and punchy with Kaffir lime and hibiscus (and slightly reminiscent of Opihr Gin)
Bar C featured foreign gins where I plumped for American Aviation Gin. Gin in America is a bit different as it doesn’t need to be ‘predominately’ juniper as it does in Europe giving them greater flexibility with flavours. It reminds me more of a Genever, smokey and savoury. It made a nice change from the juniper-heavy gins from earlier, although I’m not certain I could drink more than one of them. Catriona skipped to Bar D for flavoured gins to get herself a Zymurgorium Sweet Violet – “It’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth”. Basically it’s a glass of liquid Palma Violets and nowhere near as cloying as I anticipated.
We decided to grab two more samples before we headed home. Stop one was Pinkster Gin which I’ve been hearing about for ages and happy I finally got a taste. It’s delightful. The steeped raspberries give it a pale pink colour and wonderfully refreshing taste. Adding a touch of tonic makes it like a more bearable Pimms. It is super summery. Next to them as a new gin, at just 10 months old Silverback Gin has been made under the guidance of Dr David Clutton (the creator of Berry Bros & Rudd No. 3). Bottled at 46%, they call their gin ‘Mountain Strength’ and they suggest it served with some orange. After politely declining this by saying it would make me sick, Catriona said “it has the bittersweet taste of a negroni”. It’s one to watch out for (plus it’s distilled near my home town of Fleet).
With live music and street food on sale, Gin Festival was a great afternoon out. They’re taking place all over the country so get involved – we’ll be the first to buy our tickets when it comes back. But keep an eye out, tickets sold out for the Brighton event so you’ll have to beat the other 1,500 people to get yours!
You can follow Gin Festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for info on all of their upcoming events.
You can see plenty of gin related posts from me on Twitter and Instagram. Have you been to a Gin Festival? Let me know what you think!
I got my sloe gin with my Elephant gin – bloody love this month’s Craft Gin Club delivery. After the joy that is Elephant gin (and you can read more about that here), I’m excited to try their sloe gin. After ripping off the plastic wrapping (thank god for long nails) I unpop the cork and the smell is sweet and syrupy. A slight sourness comes through so the smell isn’t overwhelming. Slightly Christmassy. Initially dark in colour, when held up to the light it’s a rich amber.
In the glass the juniper smell is strong, then I notice the label says “compared with other sloe gins, relatively low sugar content paired with higher alcohol volume” – it’s 35% which is higher than the average 15-30% (although EU laws say it must be a minimum of 25%). On the tongue when straight it’s very syrupy and sweet, with a strong kick of gin. Mixed with a touch of water it mellows out and produces a rich berry flavour. The juniper isn’t strong when you drink it, tasting slightly more of Chambord as a fruity mixer. Watered down slightly it doesn’t even have a taste of alcohol about it, but I am now obsessed with the idea of it being Christmas.
I don’t usually drink sloe gin with tonic, so instead I’m mixing it into a sloe gin fizz (one of my favourite cocktails in case you’re wondering). 50ml of sloe gin, 25 ml of lemon juice, a teaspoon of caster sugar and topped up with soda water. Nom nom. It’s soft and gentle, the flavours don’t overpowering anything else in the cocktail. Admittedly the recipe I followed called for an extra shot of gin, and perhaps this would have given it that little extra punch it perhaps needs (for my taste buds anyway). The bitterness of the gin and lemon juice is perfectly balanced with the sweetness from the sugar. Perfectly quaffable. I love sloe gin.
A 50cl bottle of Elephant Sloe gin is £31.95 on Masters of Malt (at time of publishing). I’d invest, now the winter and the dark nights are drawing in
After a bit of a kerfuffle with Royal Mail and their tracking system, my September Craft Gin Club delivery finally arrived. I’ve seen Elephant Gin around a few places but I’ve not yet had a chance to try it, so imagine my excitement when I open my box to find a full size bottle of an exclusive batch, PLUS small bottles of the regular gin and sloe gin (reviews of these to come after my holiday as I’ve run out of time). We were also lucky enough to receive ChariTea Red, Divine‘s newest flavour – dark chocolate and pink Himalayan salt – and a bag of Buchu (literally no idea). 15% of Elephant Gin’s profits go to help elephant conservation through Big Life Foundation‘s Ranger Club and Space for Elephants Foundation and all products in this box are fair trade, so I can feel totally good at spending this months subscription cost. Each batch of Elephant Gin is named after a real elephant that is either being protected or has played an important role in Africa’s history. Mshale, my bottle’s namesake, is a 40 year old elephant living in Kenya’s Tsavo National Park – one of the largest with tusks weighing 100 pounds each (aka £25,000 worth of ivory).
The large bottle has some lovely decoration (we all know I’m a sucker for a good label) and string wrapped around the bottle neck. It gives a feel of something old that has been shipped to us, helped by old world postage stamp designs and a map of Southern Africa. No wax seal to break through here (thank god), just a simple cork top. First sniff is fairly pungent. I can’t work out what the smell is – but this is probably from the rare African botanicals they use (Devil’s Claw, Lion’s Tails or Buchu anyone?). Straight away the smell packs a punch in the glass, but the taste is less intense than anticipated. It’s certainly got flavour to it. But I have no idea what that flavour is. Not sweet, the gin falls more on the savoury side with an almost herby smell (after tasting it I checked out the botanical list, Mountain Pine, that will be the one). A small amount of heat is noticeable on your tongue – ginger is one of the botanicals. It goes down very easily straight (never a good sign for my liver).
Mixed with tonic (and a small panic when I realise I am now out of tonic water) this is an absolute delight. Fresh apple flavours (but no disgusting fake sweetness) keep it light while heavier spiced tones make it deep and earthy. No burning sensation at any point – one could almost confuse it for exciting water. Different areas of the mouth come alive as you take a sip. At 45% I was expecting this to be harsher, but it is clean and simple in taste. I felt no need to add any lemon or lime to this gin. I happily sipped away at it all evening, and will continue to do so. I can’t wait to crack open their signature gin and the sloe gin.
A 50cl bottle of the signature blend is available on Masters of Malt for just £29.49 (as of day of publishing). Absolute bargain. This will be on order the second this bottle is finished. Elephant Gin are all over social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Don’t forget to check out Craft Gin Club and congratulate them on their success in Dragon’s Den – welcome on board Sarah Willingham! They’re on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well.
Finally, give me a follow on Twitter and Instagram and let me know what you think!
First of all – Happy World Gin Day! My favourite day of the year. This also coincides nicely with this month’s Craft Gin Club delivery (well, actually it arrived last week but I went on holiday so I’ve only just got round to opening it). June’s parcel arrived with a bottle of NB Gin Navy Strength (57% ABV), a bottle of Fentimans Sparkling Lime and Jasmine, a small bottle of extra dry Martini and some NB Gin Alco Olives. Yup, olives soaked in gin. Didn’t realise I needed these in my life until now.
In case you couldn’t guess from the box contents, this gin apparently makes a very good Martini, and much of this month’s Ginned talks about Martinis in history, and one of my favourite pieces of writing ever – canapés inspired by James Bond (Quantum of Scallops anyone? No? How about Diamonds are Bruschetta?). I’ll be making my first ever Martini at a later date and will report back.
NB Gin hails from Scotland (so I can claim to be getting in touch with my heritage as I drink it) and their regular London Dry Gin won the title of “Best London Dry Gin in the World, 2015”. I’ve been following them on Twitter for a while and they have quite the famous following: Johnny Roxburgh, party planner for the royal family loves it and lists it on his menus and they have been the official gin of the Brits after party in 2015 and 2016. Swanky stuff. Navy strength gin is so called as the Royal Navy required gins from the early 1800’s to be bottled at a higher abv as gin was often stored below deck adjacent to the gunpowder. They then noticed that if the gin spilt on the gunpowder, it wouldn’t light, so gin had to be a higher proof to make sure that the gunpowder would still light. Why they couldn’t store the gin somewhere else, I don’t know. But there we go, small history lesson for you. NB Gin’s makers say that the extra alcohol content increases the concentration of the flavours – key botanicals include juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, grains of paradise and ground cardamom. I’m expecting something rather intense.
The bottle has no wax seal so it is nice and easy to get into (it’s always embarrassing when you have to hack the bottle apart). It is very botanical heavy, considering how strong it is you don’t get any nasty gin smell, just fragrant and citrusy. Measured out with some cold water the juniper comes forward and you can sense the strength a bit more. Holding it on the tongue and it has a bit of a kick to it but it’s smooth at the back of the throat. I was expecting that gin burn but it’s easy to drink. There’s definitely a warmth in my chest once I’ve drunk it. It feels thick, it’s certainly not a light and flowery gin, but the flavours are well balanced
Mixed as a G&T with 50ml of the gin with 100ml of Fevertree’s light tonic water (I was fancy and treated myself) and some of my wonderful plastic ice cubes (people seriously need to invest in these) it’s now starting to smell a bit more dangerous. The smell packed more of a punch than I was expected and nearly recoiled from my glass. It certainly tastes stronger as well. The bitterness of the tonic plays up to the botanicals and the sheer strength of the gin and whilst it remains smooth on the tongue, it’s flavours are much more obvious as you drink it. The producers are correct, the flavour is more intense than I am used to. I believe this is actually my first navy strength gin – even Burleigh’s which made me strangely emotional is is only 47%. Sailors are certainly a hardy bunch. I think it’s safe to say you don’t need many of these in an evening. The intensity of the flavours also make it less “gluggable” (drink responsibly) which is a good thing at this strength! As they recommend the lime and jasmine Fentimans, I add a lime wedge which adds a slightly lighter note and certainly lifts the flavour a bit to make it less heavy.
All in all, this is different. If you like your gin strong then this is the one for you. I am very interested in trying the normal strength NB Gin to see how the flavours compare. Over on Masters of Malt the Navy Strength gin is £41.95 – slightly more expensive than I think I would pay, but this also isn’t a gin that’s going to disappear quickly!
So one day I was browsing Twitter and came upon a tweet from the Craft Gin Club saying you can make your own gin. Obviously I was intrigued. Obviously I went straight to Tesco. As this was a test, I decided to halve the amounts so if it is gross I haven’t wasted an entire bottle of vodka, or indeed if it works I can tweak the recipe and try again!
I decided to follow the basic recipe that they suggested on their website: vodka with added juniper berries, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, peppercorns, a cinnamon stick and lemon peel. I excluded the orange peel because bleugh. The recipe is based on the style of bath tub gin where the botanicals are steeped in the spirit rather than gaining its flavour through distillation. So don’t worry folk, I haven’t set up a still in my flat!
After adding my botanicals (minus the lemon peel) the vodka instantly took on a lovely fresh smell. The plan was to halve the amount of botanicals as suggested, but I went a bit heavier on the juniper and coriander as I am a big fan of those flavours. Then I left it in a dark corner of my kitchen and went to the pub. Over the next 24 I give it the occasional shake then add my lemon peel. God I love the smell of lemon. I put off trying it and wait until the next evening. Strained through a small sieve and muslin cloth, it is still a pale yellow colour – something that would disappear with proper filtering. Instead I settle on leaving it a few more days for the sediment to settle and a further straining.
Smells really lemony and fresh and a hint of juniper. I worry I’ve overdone it on the zest and not put enough of the other botanicals in. But oh well this is an experiment. .
Pre-filter
Finally, four days later I crack it open. Time to filter it once more. Which makes no difference as it still looks like dehydrated wee. I give it a try completely straight, no water. Oh my that smells like booze. Once in the Copa glass the vodka comes straight through. Yup. Tastes as expected, just like like acidic vodka. But I’m no quitter, and with an equal measure of water the harshness mellows slightly. It’s not as bad as I anticipated. I definitely went too hard on the lemon and should have added more juniper and coriander seeds to balance it out. Not too bitter and not too sweet, it just tastes like a slightly warm lemon drink. Much more palatable straight than most gins I’ve tried. Rather more reminiscent of a genever with a slightly smoky taste (this could be from the cinnamon or from the effect that the warmer days are having on my kitchen). Whatever it tastes of, it certainly isn’t vodka (hurrah) but feel the juniper isn’t strong enough to legit call it gin(nifer)
Post-filter…nope I see no difference either
Mixing up a G&T (50ml gin and 100ml tonic) the gin loses its lemony taste. It’s still there – and the smell is incredible – but the tonic adds an extra bitterness (note, I am using Tesco own tonic which is slightly more bitter than ,say, a Fevertree would be). Again, whilst it isn’t unpleasant, there is nothing remarkable about it. I’m happy that I made this myself and didn’t pay for it. The gin lacks enough flavour to stand up to the tonic, and the colour pales to look like a yellow-tinged wine.
All in all, not too shabby. I was certainly worried that I would make an undrinkable yellow liquid, but instead I made a perfectly fine yellow liquid. I mean I will certainly try again and alter the recipe. But for now this is fine. Tune in next time for Ginnifer #2
Follow my gin exploits on Twitter and Instagram! And why not make your own gin and let me know how it goes!
My December delivery from Craft Gin Club arrived whilst I was in Bangkok, so I hot footed it home to give it a try (technically my holiday had finished and I was coming home anyway but whatevs). This month’s treat came courtesy of Sibling Distillery, a family of four aged between 16 and 23. Makes me feel rather inadequate that they’re all younger than me and have their own gin. Maybe I’ll start distilling – who wants to invest in me?
The four grew up working in Battledown Brewery, set up by their parents to supply local pubs, hotels, restaurants and shops with premium local ales. The foursome from Cheltenham work on a ‘grain to glass’ approach, fermenting their own grains to make vodka before infusing it with their botanicals to make gin. This process means it takes nearly three weeks from start to bottle, by way of comparison a big brand can turn around a batch in hours, and craft gins that buy in their base spirits take around 12-48 hours. Their botanicals are changed every 17 batches to ensure freshness, with lemons, oranges and blueberries hand chopped and grated. Interesting fact: as the quartet are under 25 they aren’t allowed to to use images of or communicating any information about themselves on their website or at trade events – basically they can’t include a photo of all of them for another 9 years until Digby, the youngest, turns 25. Guys, if you need a brand ambassador over 25, I’m here. Just saying.
I digress. The bottle is beautiful – I enjoy well designed bottles as these end up as lamps around my flat, plus it feels nicer to drink if they have put effort into the bottle (just me?). The siblings created “the first glass and stainless steel still in Europe, ensuring that we produce the purest vodka base” – you can tell brewing is in their blood, can’t you? The botanicals they use are slightly different, in between the usual coriander, orange and lemon there sits blueberries and vanilla.
After having a little struggle to open the seal (in my defence, when I cracked into my bottle I hadn’t slept for a while and was still on an Asian time zone), I pop the cork. Taking a whiff from the bottle, the vanilla is quite prevalent. It smells sweeter than other gins but not in a cloying way. Diluted with one part water, the juniper scents come out along with more vanilla. It smells a bit like a cake in a glass. Smooth and easy to drink (never a safe thing to say about straight 42% gin), the botanicals are well balanced so that none of the flavours are overpowering. There’s a slight tang at the back of the throat – coming, I presume, from the orange and lemon but the vanilla and blueberries balance it to leave a good taste. I’m not one to drink straight spirits (alas the days of my youth are gone) but this is nice. It helps that as I type this, a Brighton seafront storm is brewing, it’s dark and cold and windy and wet outside, but I’m snuggled up. If only my flat had a fireplace!
It’s impressed so far, but how will it fare in the gin and tonic test? Before I opened this I had a look on the Craft Gin Club Facebook page and was concerned to see a few negative reviews – would this finally be the gin I don’t like? Pairing it with the Bottle Green Light Tonic supplied in my box and making it in my new Martini glasses (birthday present from the wonderful house mate Jenny Bernarde) – although I then realised due to the size of the Martini glass compared to the size of my gin serving I am in for a strong drink.
On first taste I understand one of the Facebook reviews which I believe said it reminded her of disinfectant, it certainly has a chemically taste to it on the first mouthful. With the tonic it seems sharper on the tongue – whether this is the gin or the tonic I don’t know, I’ve never had the Bottle Green tonic before and a quick taste of it shows that it is slightly more bitter than other tonics. I am also aware that I’ve made a strong drink which will alter the taste.
Once you’ve got past the initial taste, the blueberries come out and a sweeter taste comes in. After a few sips I added a little more tonic to make the drink better balanced/I was already slightly pissed and the chemical taste disappears and you’re left with a fruity gin. I’ve had a “mixed berry” gin before that was fairly terrible as it tasted of fake fruit and sugar but this has a subtle hint to it. If I didn’t know it had blueberries in, I wouldn’t have guessed it.
Adding some lemon wedges (because I’m sorry Sibling distillery and others, I will NOT be adding orange to my drink, won’t, shan’t) makes it, in my opinion, pretty damn close to perfect. I know I’m a fan of citrus, but the sharpness from the lemon contrasts the sweetness and enhances the sharper notes making it a smooth drink. With some lemon, I will happily drink this all day long.
All in all, yes it’s a little different at first taste, but very rewarding. I like that it is set up by a group of young entrepreneurs, I think they are ginspirational (that’s right, I went there) and it’s a shame they can’t present their product as a family (although I do wonder how much tasting the 16 year old does…). But seriously, if you’re hiring…
You can get your hands on a bottle through their website, their 42% 70cl bottle is £34 plus £6 postage. This price puts it up in the luxury gin area, but (including postage) this is the same amount as my fave Brighton Gin and others. I appreciate this might be a bit much for people to buy to drink every day, but this brings some interesting flavours to the party and will make an impressive addition to any upcoming Christmas cocktail parties. I know that once I’ve shaken this post-holiday lurgy I shall be enjoying it and trying out a few new drink ideas to change things up a bit for the New Year.
Sibling Gin are all over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (of course, they are run by a load of youths!)
Day 2 is here (again, a bit late because I went to see a musical…) and bestows upon us the Merchant Strength version of Strane Gin. Made by the established Smögen Whisky distillery on the west coast of Sweden, batches are made in a 100 litre still making it very small batch indeed. The Merchant Strength gin is bottled at 47.4% – if that’s not enough for you they also produce a Navy Strength (57.1%) and an eye watering 76% Uncut Strength. Even I think that sounds like a bad idea waiting to happen!
Tasting it, it has more of a kick to it on the tongue but a more rounded flavour than Half Hitch. The flavour feels more complex and slightly smokey – a flavour I image that is coming from their whisky heritage. Boy thinks the flavour is “harsher and more short lived”. I have no idea what he is talking about, he isn’t a gin drinker. Sticking with the trusty Tesco tonic (obviously not because I’m drinking multiple day’s gin in one night), it’s not quite as smooth as I thought it might be. I think the deeper notes are staying, making it heavier than a normal gin and tonic. My favourite thing about a G&T is that it is light and refreshing. I like a dry drink more than anyone, but this isn’t a dryness so much as a depth. Nosing on their website shows the botanicals include mint, basil and sage alongside almonds. This explains the savoury edge.
