ginvent 2016

Ginvent 2016 – Fishers Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9895 [Note: I am writing this at 11:10pm after three glasses of wine and half a bottle of prosecco]

It’s day 21 and we’re nearly at the end of Ginvent. Frankly, this has been tougher than anticipated. I’m not the most consistent at blogging at the best of times. But today we get to try Fishers Gin – which I think is winning best bottle design so far. Created on the Suffolk Coast using location-specific botanicals spignel, rock samphire, wood aven and bog myrtle. No, I don’t know how these taste either.

img_9896Straight from the bottle it’s juniper heavy, and in the glass it opens up to a more zesty smell. Straight from the glass, it has a lot of flavour. A slight cumin taste comes forward, with a saltier edge which I imagine comes from the rock samphire. The taste lingers, it is certainly pungent. Not in a terrible way. But it lingers. With tonic, it’s slightly non-descript. It definitely tastes of juniper, with some zestiness. But it’s nothing special. I would describe this as an every day gin – slightly heavier than a Gordon’s etc., but nothing to write home about (or indeed, wait up instead of going to bed at a normal time to write a blog about). I’m sad about this, I checked #ginvent on Twitter before I went out for dinner (I had a social life tonight) and people seemed to think it was fairly flavoursome. I’m not that impressed.

img_9897A 50cl bottle of the 44% gin is £47 over on Master of Malt. I would buy it purely for the bottle design, for the taste? Not so much. You can find Fishers Gin on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Catch up on Ginvent here, and let me know what you think on Twitter and Instagram.

Ginvent 2016 – Berliner Brandstifter Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9875 It’s a horrible coincidence that today’s gin is opened the day after a lorry attack on a busy Christmas markets in the streets of Berlin. When I first read that we would be receiving Berliner Brandstifter Berlin Dry Gin in our calendar I was excited and couldn’t stop thinking about my holiday there last year, so it’s a shame that we can’t all try it under nicer circumstances. This gin was launched in 2013 and is designed to make you think of “taking a wonderful walk on a careless summer day in the capital” using elderflowers, woodruff and mallow as key botanicals. This gin is limited to just under 10,000 bottles per year, and each bottle is hand bottled and labelled. It sounds like this should be a nice refreshing, floral gin. Hopefully a lighter note to brighten our days.

fullsizerenderFrom the bottle it certainly smells fresh (Note: I do currently have a bit of a blocked nose and am wearing a pore strip so my nose isn’t on top form right now). It reminds me slightly of Blackwater No 5 (the best gin) in that it smells a bit like rain – although this has a stronger juniper nose to it. Tasting it straight, the main flavours (after the small shock of drinking straight gin) is floral and light and slightly sweet like a hint of sherbet sweets. I like. With tonic, this is a delight. Slightly sweeter than a usual gin, but not too sweet. Just light and refreshing, with a flowery aftertaste. It’s hard to describe (check out #ginvent on Twitter for people being more eloquent [it’s been a long day]). Less fresh rain and more kids sweets, but I’m enjoying.

img_9877You can find Berliner Brandstifter on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and you can grab yourself a bottle of this from Master of Malt for £47.85. This seems quite a lot for something I don’t think I could have as my every day gin, but it certainly feels like something special. Perhaps it’s the import costs?

Catch up on the last 19 days of Ginvent here and let me know what you think! I’m around on Twitter and Instagram.

 

Ginvent 2016 – Audemus Pink Peppercorn Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9823Another day, another gin. Today’s gin is Audemus Pink Pepper Gin. Hailing from France, Audemus gin uses traditional techniques “blended with a modern alchemy and a passion for innovation”. Pink Peppercorn sounds like a good example of this. Their Pink Pepper fin is designed “to be an entirely unique, intense and aromatic gin”. The flavour should change from a spicy pink pepper and juniper blend to a warmer vanilla and honey tone as the gin ages and comes to room temperature.

img_9825Straight from the bottle the smell is very fresh and slightly savoury – not what I expected for something that tastes of honey as it warms (this has been sat in my lounge for the last month so it’s not exactly cold…). It smells smooth (yes I know that’s strange) but I can sense the vanilla. This tastes nothing like I expected. The pepper comes out, with the smoother softer vanilla at the back of the tongue. Making it into a G&T, this is certainly unusual. The pepper tastes fade away, and it is reminiscent of cake. The vanilla and honey are more prominent than expected, and not in a bad way. It’s smooth to drink, with no nasty alcohol burn. Sweet, but not cloying, I quite like this. Do I think I could drink this every day? No, but as a one off now and again it is certainly a nice change. And this comes from someone that doesn’t like a sweet gin.

img_9826You can find Audemus spirits on Facebook and in basically no shops so find them over on Masters of Malt where a 70cl bottle (44% ABV) will set you back £45.91 (at time of writing).

Have you tried the Pink Pepper Gin? Let me know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram, and catch up on Ginvent here.

 

 

 

Ginvent 2016 – Bishop’s Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9808It’s day 16 and today we have Bishop’s Gin. Yet another I’ve never heard of. That excites me. Bishop’s Gin have a cracking bottles and is “infused with a sense of adventure, discovery and nonconformity”. My kinda drink. Named after John Ponet, the bishop was one of the first protestants to fight for religious freedom in the 16th century. Not too shabby. 8 botanicals make up Bishop’s Gin and are distilled in one go to make their London Dry Gin.

img_9809Straight from the bottle, the smell is slightly heady and nice and deep. In a glass it releases more of the juniper, and smells quite simple. Not simple in a bad way, simple in a “we’ve nailed this and don’t need to mess around with our flavours to make it stand out” kinda simple. My kind of drink. On the tongue it is very strong, I just had a look and it’s only 40.7% – I was expecting stronger! The juniper taste sticks around, it’s very nice. Mixed with tonic, the flavours really come out. I am not good enough to guess the tastes, but I know I like it, it is well balanced and has a slightly tart edge to it which gives it a lighter finish. It’s warm but not overpowering. Flavoured but not perfumed. This, for me, is a winner.

img_9810A 70cl bottle of this is on Master of Malt for £35.07 which I think is incredibly reasonable, and this is going on the “to buy” list. You can tell Bishop’s Gin how great they are on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Do you agree? Fan of this? Let me know on Twitter and Instagram, and catch up on the rest of #ginvent here.

Ginvent 2016 – Pothecary Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9795Happy day 15 of Ginvent. Today brings us Pothecary gin, awarded silver in the Outstanding and Gin and Tonic categories at IWSC 2016. Created in Dorset by Soapbox Spirits, this new gin has already caused a stir and winning all the awards (as well as the two above they wont Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards). They create a fairly unique gin which uses lavender as a key botanical – I’m a bit wary of this because that sounds like something the Apprentice candidates would have dreamt up (that made everyone else angry right?).

img_9796It doesn’t smell as strong as I anticipated, quite floral with hints of lavender. The lavender is certainly more prominent once you pour it out into a copa glass. It hits you in the face – we’ve had a few of these gins in the last two weeks! The strong smell translates to quite a strong taste when straight. It certainly has a ginny burn to it with a heavy floral and scented aftertaste. I feel like I should be trying to sleep with this much lavender! Luckily, some dryness calms this down a bit. But you are definitely drinking lavender. Whilst I’m all about experimenting, I’m not certain gin mixes with everything. Like the nginious! smoked and salted gin, I think this could be great in a cocktail, but it’s not a winner for me as a G&T. I lack rosemary so can’t use that as a garnish – a top tip to counteract the sweetness, but again I think that might perk it up. Unless the floral is elderflower, I’m not really a floral gin person.

img_9797Pothecary Gin is bottled at 44.8% and a 50ml bottle of it is on Master of Malt for £40.05. You can find Pothecary Gin on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Let me know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram, and catch up on Ginvent here.