spirits

Biggar Gin

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Note: I contacted Biggar for a sample and they kindly sent me one to try, as always I’ll let you know what I think.

Biggar gin is one of the many new brands coming from Scotland, started by two brothers who focus on small scale production with big ambitions. They take their name from the town they grew up in, south of Glasgow and Edinburgh in the Southern Uplands and distil their gin at the famous Strathearn Distillery. Traditional botanicals juniper, coriander seeds, cardamom and orris root combine with rosehip, rowan berries and lavender. The idea behind the botanicals is to create a balance of flavours – sweet meets savoury, florals meet earthiness – which reflects the local landscape. So, how does it taste?

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TBGC Strawberry & Balsamico Gin

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Note: The team at Maverick Drinks sent me a bottle to try out on the blog, but as always I’ll let you know what I really think.

I’m going to be super honest up front: this does not sound like my cup of tea. That Boutique-y Gin Company have decided the best combination to match with gin is strawberry and balsamic vinegar. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like strawberries, I like balsamic vinegar, and I like the two together. But as a gin? They say the combination of the three works perfectly, a mix of syrupy, sweet and savoury together. They make it by creating separate distillates of black pepper, strawberry and Aceto di Balsamico tradizionale di Modena DOP aka the fanciest balsamic you can get your hands on and which is geographically protected a la Champagne. Not only does it have to be made in the province of Modena, but is has to also be aged for between 12 and 25 years in small barrels which gives the gin an oaky quality which balances the sweeter, fruity notes. They suggest having it on its own, with tonic or with prosecco – I’m a big fan of mixing sweeter liqueurs with prosecco, so perhaps this will be the winner for me.

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Fifty Pounds Gin

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Fifty Pounds gin makes a bold claim. They say they are the “smoothest gin ever”. Distilled in south east London, the award winning gin is made in a small distillery and they triple filter it to achieve this smoothness. You might have seen Fifty Pounds gin before, their distinctive bottle is based on the first gin bottles from the 18th century, labelled with the batch and year it was made – possible due to the producing batches of only 1000 bottles. They keep their recipe secret but are quite open about their botanicals: Croatian juniper, coriander seeds, Spanish orange and lemon peel, and African grains of paradise amongst others. These are placed in the still with their neutral grain spirit and some water, are left to macerate then they gently heat them for the five hour distillation process. This is left for a minimum of three weeks which they say allows the essential oils from the botanicals to blend into the grain spirit. The final step in reaching their 43.5% ABV is to mix it with their neutral grain spirit and some pure water.

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Tarquin’s Cornish Christmas Gin

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As per the last two years, I’ve received my Craft Gin Club delivery in December. Due to the daily blogging for Ginvent, I then never get to try it until after Christmas. But here we go; this month’s delivery contains an exclusive collaboration with Tarquin’s, one of my favourite distillers. I’ve tried many over the four years I’ve been writing, too many to list here but feel free to have a search back, and never have I been disappointed. This edition is only available to Craft Gin Club members and was distilled using a whopping 18 botanicals including Tarquin’s staple violet alongside Christmassy botanicals nutmeg, star anise, ginger and allspice. There’s also plenty of citrus fruits and tonka bean to bring a mulled fruit note to balance the zest and marzipan.

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Ginvent 2018 – Scapegrace Gold Gin

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Happy Christmas Eve! It is with great sadness that we bring Ginvent to an end for yet another year, but before we do we need to try Scapegrace Gold gin. Scapegrace gin comes from New Zealand, when one guy married the other guy’s sister and discussed how they would like to make their own gin. 13 botanicals and a load of debt later, they had a gin that won gold in London and San Francisco. They use glacial water from the southern Alps mixed with orange and lemon peel, nutmeg, cloves and dried tangerine to make their classic 42% gin. Scapegrace Gold is their navy strength version at 57% which builds layers of citrus with orange, lemon and tangerine. So let’s see how it tastes.

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Ginvent 2018 – Pothecary gin

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We’ve made it to the penultimate day of Ginvent. Sad face. Today we drink Pothecary gin, which I tried after meeting the team at Junipalooza earlier this year. You can read my thoughts on it here.

You can get your hands on a 50cl bottle from Gin Kiosk for £39 (at the time of writing). You can find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Let me know your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram, and catch up with all things Ginvent here.

Ginvent 2018 – Malfy Gin

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Final three days! Today we drink Malfy gin, an Italian gin with a lovely label. Most accounts of gin history trace the roots back to the Dutch genever, but Malfy claim that gin was invented by monks on the Salerno coast and their distillery in Moncalieri has been established since 1906. The key flavour for Malfy gin is the Italian lemons that grow in Sicily and the Amalfi coast. These lemons give the gin it’s freshness, alongside Italian grown juniper and fresh spring water. Since launching, they have grown their range to include four varieties – the Originale that we are drinking today which actually came second and is more juniper forward than the original the Con Limone which makes the most of the fresh lemons, the Con Arancia using Sicilian blood oranges, and the Gin Rosa which features pink grapefruit and Italian rhubarb. So, how does it taste?

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Ginvent 2018 – Salcombe Start Point Gin

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With four days left to go, we’ve hit the third gin that I’ve already reviewed (this is impressive that we have so few this far in). Today’s gin is Salcombe Start Point gin, and you can read all my thoughts here.

You can get a 70cl bottle of the 44% gin from Gin Kiosk for £37.40 (at time of writing). You can find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Let me know what you think on Twitter and Instagram, and don’t forget to keep up with all things Ginvent here.

Ginvent 2018 – Cuckoo Gin

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We’ve done remarkably to make it to 20 December before hitting another gin I’ve tried. Today’s gin is Cuckoo gin which I am a big fan of – you can read what I thought over here.

You can buy a 70cl bottle of 43% gin from Gin Kiosk for £38.00 (at time of writing). You can find Cuckoo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Have you tried Cuckoo gin? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to keep up with all things Ginvent here.

Ginvent 2018 – Ramsbury Gin

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Ramsbury gin are one of the rare distilleries that have control of the whole process, from field to table. They grown their own wheat on their estate in Wiltshire and use their own chalk filtered water source. Sustainability is key – the heating in the distillery is generated by a biomass boiler, the livestock feed on the leftover wheat, and they clean their waste water with a reed bed system that is wildlife friendly. Before making gin, they started life as a brewery and used this knowledge to help make their gin what it is. They start by making their own vodka, which they then distil with nine botanicals (the usual suspects alongside some fresh quince) to make a gin they say is fruity and sweet with a floral note. So, is that really the case?

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