Welcome to day 10 of Ginvent! Today features a world exclusive taste of a brand new gin – Glasgow Distillery‘s Makar Old Tom Gin. The original gin has been around for a while, with distilling in Glasgow going back as far as 1770 and the Glasgow Distillery Company opening in 1825, launching their reborn Makar Glasgow Gin in 2014. The Old Tom Gin is the newest addition to this family, despite being a gin steeped in history. Am I the only one that loves the mystery around Old Tom Gin? Knocking on a wooden cat sign to receive a shot of gin poured down a pipe during prohibition times?
“Ooo that’s piercing”. Good start to this gin. I think it smells a bit like a fruit cake. Mixed with tonic, it smells like a nice, mellow gin. The juniper comes to the front, but slightly sweeter. “It’s weirdly kind of…hang on I need another mouthful…mmm…just kind of tastes quite happy”. I think I’ve broken the boy. I think it tastes perfumed, not too heavy on any botanicals but well flavoured. A hint of sweetness stops it being too heavy. I think mixed into a cocktail this gin would come into it’s own. As a straight forward G&T (with no garnish) it’s not the most exciting thing to ever enter my mouth.
You can grab yourself a bottle of the Old Tom Gin on Master of Malt for £35 which I think is fairly priced – perhaps not for me but then again I’ve not tried too many Old Tom gins. Perhaps a future blog post? Who wants to send me some samples?
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Based in Glasgow, the team have a strong ethical baseline. They donate a portion of their profits to environmental charities and they aim to raise awareness about some of the issues that exist due to climate change. With the classic tale of four friends that got together and after a few drinks decided to make a gin, they started this in their garden shed. They are inspired by the botanicals that grow around them – blackberries from their garden, dandelions that are usually disposed of and some bee friendly lavender. They bottle their gin at 45% and say it is filled with floral and spiced notes. So, how does it taste?
