ginvent 2016

Ginvent 2016 – Strathearn Distillery Heather Rose Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9529Day four brings us a gin from what is probably Scotland’s smallest distillery – Strathearn Distillery. Situated near a village in Perthshire, they produce a range of spirits including single malt whisky, and, more importantly – gin. Four gins to be precise. For a small distillery they must be BUSY. Our gin today is the Heather Rose gin, a gin produced in very small batches of just 280 bottles. In the bottle is has a dark yellow colour, which by some witch craft apparently turns pink when mixed with tonic.

img_9530Straight from the bottle it has a very strong nose to it – it gets right to you. Heavy on the juniper. Straight on the tongue it’s like a whiskey, that’s a bad bad idea. A bit too strong and earthy for me.

Adding tonic hasn’t changed the colour. It’s still a dehydrated wee colour. The tonic makes it fresh and fruity. Very lemony and citrusy with a deeper juniper edge at the back of the throat. I can’t work out if I like it or not. I think I do, it’s reminiscent of Burleigh’s with a woody hint to it.

A bottle of Heather Rose gin is currently £29.95 on Master of Malt. Personally, it’s not for me.

They are available on social media on Twitter and Facebook. Have you tried it? Let me know what you think on Twitter and Instagram.

Don’t miss a day of Ginvent and catch up here.

 

Ginvent 2016 – City of London Christopher Wren Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9510It’s Saturday! Day 3 of Ginvent brings us the City of London distillery’s Christopher Wren Londom Dry Gin. City of London distillery produces a range of gins including an Old Tom and a Sloe gin – I’ve heard of them before but never had the chance to try them. London is obviously steeped in history for gin, being home of Mother’s Ruin and the Gin Craze – and indeed inspiring my favourite image of Gin Lane and the crazy drunk mother dropping her baby off a wall. A relatively new distillery, City of London opened in December 2012 and they now have five gins in their arsenal.gin-lane

img_9511It certainly smells zestier than the last two days of gin – sweet orange is a major botanical in this gin which worries me as we all know I hate orange. Fresher than yesterday’s heavy Strane gin, it’s certainly more citrusy than before. Drinking it straight from the glass I pick up the orange straight away, the boy manages to notice is is more citrusy but not specifically orange. It’s alright. I’ll make him do this more often and he’ll learn.

img_9512Sticking with the standard Tesco tonic, the orange isn’t as obvious and the flavour becomes more general-citrus – the lemon comes to the front. Boy likes this (probably because he isn’t a freak that hates orange). We both love lemon so this is a good gin.

A 70cl bottle (at 45.3%) is currently £41.95 on Master of Malt.  Personally, I’m not convinced I would pay this much for a bottle as it’s not my favourite gin ever, but I’ll certainly keep an eye out in a bar and give it another go.

They are also all over social media and you can find them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Let me know what you think of Christopher Wren on Twitter and Instagram – and don’t forget to check out the rest of Ginvent over here.

 

 

Ginvent 2016 – Strane London Dry Gin, Merchant Strength

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9471 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.

img_9472Tasting 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.

Keep up with Ginvent here.

 

 

Ginvent 2016 – Half Hitch Gin

Posted on by jennyinbrighton

img_9452Welcome 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.

img_9453As 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.

img_9454A 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.

Half Hitch are available on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Are you taking part in Ginvent (and being better than me at trying them on the day?) – let me know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram!

Catch up on the rest of Ginvent here.