gin tonic

York Gin Roman Fruits

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York gin range

After a short Christmas break, I am returning to my York gin tasting set and today we taste the Roman Fruits gin. If we were to judge a book by its cover, I would guess this would be lower ABV and sugary sweet, but this is a full strength gin at 42.5% ABV.

The Romans founded York in AD71 and this gin is infused with flavours associated with Ancient Rome. They take their London Dry gin and let it infuse with hibiscus, apple, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries for two weeks – with no added sugar! This gives it the rich ruby colour and layers of flavour. Fun fact – they even gave this gin it’s own Latin motto – Veni, vidi, bibi – aka I came, I saw, I drank.

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Kirkjuvagr Yuletide Gin

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December Craft Gin Club boxIt’s the most wonderful time of the year….aka Christmas! And what does Christmas mean? It’s Craft Gin Club delivery time! This month’s bumper box contains a festive special edition of Kirkjuvagr gin. I have tried their Origin and Aurora gins in the past, and since then they’ve had a rebrand and have some rather stunning new bottles. Based on an island which is closer to the Arctic circle than it is London, their home is important to them. Not only are they inspired by their Viking ancestry, but they are also lucky enough to pick their own native angelica on the island. For this Christmas edition, they carefully selected Aronia berry (also known as the Viking berry) alongside festive spices cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Because it’s Christmas, they also add some frankincense and myrrh – although the only gold you’ll see here is on the bottle. To balance all the spices, they add rose hips and three types of rose – Burnet, Ramanas and Red roses.

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York Gin Grey Lady

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York gin rangeToday I venture to what I think of as the ‘flavoured gin’ side of the York Gin Tasting Pack. The Grey Lady gin, like all of their range, takes inspiration from the city’s history – did you know that York is regarded to be Europe’s most haunted city? The most famous of these is the Grey Lady – a nun who broke the rules of celibacy by falling in love with a nobleman so was bricked up in her room and left to die (delightful). She now lingers in that spot – which happens to be the dress circle of the Theatre Royal (that’s one cultured ghost).

To make the Grey Lady gin, they distil the London Dry with Earl Grey tea and some extra lemon and orange peels before being infused with blue pea flower. Whether this adds flavour or not, I don’t know, but apparently it gives it a “ghostly blue-grey hue” (not gonna lie, mine looks crystal clear so far). Furthermore, like all their other gins, this has also won a number of awards including a Silver medal at the International Wine & Spirit Competition.

York Gin Grey LadyOpening my bottle and the extra citrus drifts up to you alongside that perfumed, smoky note of the tea. In the glass this opens up, the aromatic tea filling your head space. A splash of water helps bring those sherbety citrus notes back to the fore. To taste it’s not as ‘flavoured’ as I anticipated/worried it might be. The gin is really well balanced, not becoming too floral thanks to the citrus (complemented by the bergamot in the tea) and that gentle spice note I’ve come to expect underpinning it all.

York Gin Grey Lady

They recommend serving this with Fever Tree light tonic – FYI, my drink is still crystal clear – and I’ve initially gone with a 1:1 ratio. This brings the spice back into the picture from the London Dry base and the fragrance from the tea adds a little something extra. Adding an extra dash of tonic helps lengthen it and dial down a touch of bitterness. Overall, I think this is really nice. So, controversial statement: I don’t like tea. Sorry (not sorry). So I was a bit worried about this gin, thinking it would perhaps be overpowering. But it’s really not. There’s enough there to add flavour but not so much you verge into soapy or heady.

The recommended garnish here is dried lemon peel and BOY are the pieces they supply huge! I ripped one in half and the intense smell that comes from it is so inviting. This is the first dried garnish that has added something to the drink – well, the flavour isn’t that different but adds such a lovely scent as you lift it to your face.

You can get a 70cl bottle of the 42.5% ABV gin from the York Gin website for £39 (at time of writing)

 

 

 

 

York Gin Old Tom

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York gin rangeThe Old Tom gin from the York Gin tasting pack uses the same botanical list as the London Dry and Outlaw gins. On top of that, they add a sugar syrup flavoured with white alba rose (the White Rose of Yorkshire), bronze fennel, star anise and pink peppercorns. The rose and herbs are grown at Michelin-starred restaurant, the Star Inn at Harome. This gin is another award winner – winning the Best English Old Tom at the World Gin Awards in 2020 and 2021.

York Gin Old TomTo smell, I get the juniper and cardamom that I’ve learnt to expect from this range, alongside something a little sweeter. In the glass, a hint of cooling menthol from the fennel starts to come through, but this changes to a bright citrus note with mixed with a splash of water. To taste you pick up the peppercorns, and it’s not as sweet as I anticipated. Old Tom gins are known for being a sweeter style, but I wouldn’t have guessed this was an Old Tom from a blind taste. It has a lot of character, the soft fennel balancing the tingle of pepper, with that woody unpinning.

They recommend serving this as a G&T with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic – normally with an Old Tom gin I wouldn’t bother with a G&T and move straight to a Tom Collins but I’m sticking to their tasting guide. This is less bitter than the previous two G&T combos – I imagine this is partly due to the sugar syrup and partly due to the tonic being more aromatic. However I have topped this up a little bit – I’m finding recently that I’ve moved from favouring a 1:1 ratio to more of a 2:1 ratio. This is rather tasty. It’s not as intense as the Outlaw gin, less spiced than the London Dry, slightly sweet but not cloying.

York Gin Old TomThe recommended garnish here is star anise – I worry this might amp up the mentholic side too much but in the name of science (science? sure, let’s go with that) I’m giving it a go. It’s definitely adding some oomph to it, which I don’t love (but I don’t really like star anise that much generally) so I’ve fished it out and am going to just enjoy my G&T as is.

A 70cl bottle of the 42.5% gin is currently £39 from the York Gin website (at time of writing).

York Gin Outlaw

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York Gin OutlawThe Outlaw edition from York Gin is the strongest gin in their range. They took inspiration from York’s infamous villains – highwayman Dick Turpin, Yorkshire witch Mary Bateman, and Guy Fawkes. It has the same botanical make up to the London dry featuring juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root, cardamom, cinnamon bark, dried lemon peel, orris root, black pepper and grains of paradise. However, it ramps up the ABV from 42.5% to 57% – in 2021 this won the Best English Navy strength gin at the World Gin Awards, and in 2019 won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition which is quite the achievement.

York Gin Outlaw tasting

Opening my little bottle and it’s recognisable as the London Dry, but definitely has a twist to it. Those same warming notes drift up but the juniper is slightly more prominent this time. In the glass the juniper comes through – with the London Dry I couldn’t pick up much juniper at all but here the woody notes are noticeable. A splash of water makes it smell slightly Christmassy – pine, citrus and cinnamon. To taste it’s drastically different to the London Dry – with that all I could taste was the pepper, but here it’s more balanced. The pepper plays its part, but it comes in just at the end after the juniper and lemon. I think personally, this is more to my tastes than the London Dry. And no, that’s not just because I like navy strength gin.

York gin rangeThe tasting pack recommends serving this with Fever Tree aromatic tonic – a tonic designed for more juniper forward gins. Starting with equal measures and it is a proper strong gin and tonic. The tonic amps up the juniper and really hits you with the pine. Increasing the tonic helps dial down the bitterness and make it slightly softer to taste. I think if you aren’t a hardcore juniper fan then this is one to lengthen out – but it still has so much flavour you can get away with it.

The recommended garnish is dried peppercorns – as you might have seen from my last post, I think dried garnishes are mostly a waste of time and are purely there to get stuck in your teeth. But I am a good blogger so have dropped a few in. Strangely, some are floating and some drifted to the bottom and have started effervescing. I’m still not convinced they add anything to the flavour, but the added bubbles make it a bit fun.

You can buy a 70cl bottle of Outlaw gin from the York Gin website for £45 (at time of writing).

York Gin London Dry

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York gin rangeThe London Dry gin is a staple in any range, so it makes sense to try this first from the York Gin tasting pack. This edition uses nine botanicals: juniper; coriander; cinnamon; orris root; angelica; cardamom; black pepper; lemon peel; and grains of paradise. I’m expecting this to have quite a bit of warmth to it from the cardamom, pepper and grains of paradise but hopefully the lemon peel will give it a lift.

York Gin London DryOpening the bottle and you definitely get a whiff of lemon hitting you first, followed by a very gentle wave of warming spice. The spice opens up in the glass but it’s not one dimensional, you get a lot in your nose but it works cohesively. Diluting it down with a splash of water really opens up the aromas. You start to pick up the black pepper and the warmth is more recognisable as cinnamon and cardamom. To taste, the spice hits you first, the tingle of black pepper on the tip of the tongue brings it alive. On the second sip the spice dials down and becomes very easy to drink.

York Gin London DryThey recommend serving this with Fever Tree light tonic so I’ve started with equal amounts and you definitely get the heat from the peppercorns along with the freshness of the lemon. Adding a tiny bit more tonic lengthens this out. I like a hefty G&T but this has so much flavour to it that it can tolerate the extra tonic. I’m not normally one to garnish with dried things, but as they’ve supplied juniper berries I’ve thrown some in. Do they really add any flavour? Not that I can discern but if it makes you feel fancy, then go for it.

A 70cl bottle of the London Dry gin is available from the York Gin website for £39 (at time of writing).

Botanic Cubical gin

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Botanic ginThis bottle has been sitting on my shelf for a while as a gift from my former housemate (the one that organised gin judging awards). Hailing from one of the world’s most prestigious wineries, the Spanish Bodegas Williams & Humbert group, the gin is made in stills that are over 100 years old. The company was founded in 1877 and focused on making sherry and brandy, and in the 1960s moved towards making wine. Since then they have expanded to make a huge variety of products including gin, rum and vodka. The gin I am drinking today is made from high quality English grains, and distilled at the Langley Distillery in Birmingham to make a traditional London Dry gin. Alongside usual botanicals juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, orange and lemon peel, orris root and liquorice root, they also add almond shells, sweet orange, orange blossom, cassia bark, and Buddha’s hand lemon. Buddha’s hand is a variety of citrus fruit from Asia, shaped like a hand with a number of thin tendrils. It is less bitter than a traditional lemon, but with a lot of fragrance which makes it a great addition to cocktails.

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Four Pillars Olive Leaf gin

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Four Pillars Olive Leaf GinI have been excited to try this gin for a really long time. I’ve tried a number of the Four Pillars gins (notably their collab with Herno Dry Island and their Bloody Shiraz), so when I saw their Olive Leaf gin, I wanted to pop some in a martini. Sadly, they kept it exclusive to Australia for the last year before launching in Selfridges this month. In 2015, they collaborated with Santamanía Destileria Urbana in Madrid, which created their first savoury gin using fresh olives and rosemary. This became a firm favourite in the line up, and inspired them to experiment. Keeping the Mediterranean inspiration, they used three types of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, plus olive leaf tea, lemon, bay leaf, rosemary, lavender and grapefruit, plus Australian staples macadamia nut and lemon myrtle. It took a year of experimenting to get the right balance of flavours and textures to work in both a classic Spanish GinTonic, and the perfect martini.

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River Test Chalkstream Gold gin

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March Craft Gin Club deliveryThis month’s Craft Gin Club is another special addition – luckily not a flavoured gin, but instead an award winning gin featuring a heritage botanical. Sarah and Jon set up The River Test distillery after attending a distilling course in 2017. On this course, they learnt about iStill, an innovative and fully automated still which uses less power than a traditional copper still. The team are based on a site of special scientific interest in Hampshire which means they are responsible for conserving the flora and fauna on their land.

The River Test Chalkstream Gold gin

Their commitment to the environment doesn’t end there. Their bottles are made of 55% recycled glass, and are made here in the UK to reduce their carbon footprint. They also invested in an electric van to carry out their local deliveries! Their original gin uses botanicals from their land – rosemary and bay grow in abundance, alongside their key ingredient: meadowsweet. Their original gin ended up winning Best London Dry Gin in England at the 2020 World Gin Awards, and when Craft Gin Club got in touch, they were up for a new challenge. For this version, they teamed up with a local farmer who introduced them to Maris Otter barley, a variety bred specifically for brewers and distillers. So, how does it taste?

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Gŵyr Rhamanta Redcurrant gin

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Note: This gin was gifted to me by Sian and Andrew, but as always I’ll let you know what I think.

Gower Rhamanta Redcurrant ginHappy Valentine’s day! Last February, Gower Gin company launched their newest gin through the Craft Gin Club, a gin designed to be shared with the one you love. The Rhamanta gin features pomegranate seeds, red rose petals and pink grapefruit zest. For 2021 we have been treated to a limited edition version of Rhamanta which has been steeped in fresh redcurrants. Redcurrants are sharper than blackberries, but with an equal amount of sweetness. What I really like about the Rhamanta gin is that, despite the botanical list, it isn’t too sweet and brings a good amount of dry, tart citrus, so I think the added redcurrants will ensure it doesn’t become too sugary. As well as the added redcurrants, this is bottled at 40%, instead of 43%, and the label has been redesigned to feature the redcurrant plant. So, how does it compare?

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