Today’s gin is one of the newer gins to the market as they only launched this year. Dartmouth English gin comes from the depths of Devon, using spring water from Calancombe alongside fresh herbs, flowers and fruit from the estate there. Their list of botanicals sounds like a good mix – juniper blended with floral notes (lavender, rosemary and some citrus) followed by warming spices (grains of paradise, cardamom and cubeb berries). Despite only launching this year, they have already been awarded “Gin of the Year 2018” by the Craft Distilling Expo from over 600 entrants from around Europe.
spirits
Ginvent 2018 – 209 Gin
If you saw a full size bottle of 209 gin you’d recognise it instantly. One of the first craft gins on the scene, they launched in 2005 from San Francisco and are available in most supermarkets. They’ve since gone on to release an interesting range of gins – three of them are barrel aged in wine casks, giving them a sauvignon blanc, a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon. They also have a gin and vodka which are Kosher-for-Passover – one of the only spirits in the world overseen by The Orthodox Union to ensure the entire process meets the kosher dietary law. Their flagship gin differs to the norm, thanks to American definitions on gin theirs is less focused on juniper, and features citrus and floral notes with a touch of spice.
Ginvent 2018 – Faith & Sons Mango Gin
I’m starting this with a bold statement: today’s gin will either be disgusting, or delicious. I don’t think there’s going to be an in between. Why? Today we try Faith & Sons mango gin. I like mango. I like gin. But I am not sure if I want the two together. Faith & Sons puree their organic mangoes which are then added to their (also organic) spirit, meaning they use no artificial flavours or colours. Regardless of the flavour, I am massively in love with the Manchester based distillery’s labels and square bottles. So, do we love it or loathe it?
Ginvent 2018 – Hayman’s Royal Dock gin
Hayman’s make good gin. Blanket statement. I hope. I’ve tried their London Dry, Sloe and Old Tom gins, and today we try their Royal Dock. This is bottled at 57% ABV, traditional for Navy Strength gin and they still use the same recipe that was used in 1863 when they supplied the gin to the English Admiralty. The higher ABV allows the juniper to shine through, accompanied by notes of citrus, coriander and a hint of subtle spice.
Ginvent 2018 – Tappers Darkside gin
It’s day 14 of Ginvent and today we are drinking Tappers Darkside gin. Tappers have been making gin since 2016 in their home of West Kirby, t’up norf near Chester and Liverpool. This is certainly a small batch gin, every batch they make is a total of 40 bottles, each of which is hand filled, labelled, waxed and numbered. It took them a year to develop the recipe, based on Prohibition Era compound style gins. Darkside gin reflects the mix of seaside botanicals from the area: red clover flowers, chickweed and sea beet alongside five other botanicals (they don’t say that these are, but I’m guessing juniper, angelica and orris root are probably in there somewhere because they always are).
Ginvent 2018 – Twelve Keys gin
Happy 12 December! Fittingly, today’s gin is Twelve Keys. Which is fantastic. How do I know this? Well, I’ve already tried it after I met them at Junipalooza and you can read what I thought over here.
You can buy a 70cl bottle of 46% Twelve Keys gin from Gin Kiosk for £39.90 (at time of writing). You can find Twelve Keys on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Have you tried Twelve Keys gin? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to keep up with all things Ginvent here.
Ginvent 2018 – Colonsay Bramble Liqueur
I’m not sure how I feel about today. This is a gin advent calendar. Not a liqueur advent calendar. This is only bearable because today’s liqueur is a) bramble flavoured and b) it’s made by Colonsay. We tried their gin in last year’s calendar which was filled with flavour, and they launched this in August 2018 after a trial run in small bottles in 2017. As a liqueur, this sits at 20% instead of their usual 47% and they use blackberries foraged from the island of Colonsay (their homeland in case you couldn’t guess) and brambles from Speyside in Northern Scotland. I’m a fan of a bramble cocktail so I have quite high hopes for this.
Ginvent 2018 – Locksley VSOT
You’ll know if you’ve seen Sir Robin of Locksley gin before as it is a fairly lurid green bottle, and today’s gin – their VSOT, a navy strength Old Tom – is a similarly bright blue. Their signature gin is a half way point between an Old Tom and a London Dry style of gin (and was in last year’s Ginvent calendar), aimed to be sipped easily, but this is full Old Tom (the name stands for Very Special Old Tom). Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across an navy strength Old Tom before – and in my mind it seems a bit strange. Old Tom gins are traditionally sweeter, and I worry that the 57.5% ABV will knock some of that sweetness out of it.
Ginvent 2018 – Persie Labrador Gin
We’ve made it to the end of week one of Ginvent! Let’s celebrate with a gin shall we? Luckily this is ginvent so today we can try Persie‘s Labrador Gin. I’ve tried their Herby & Aromatic gin (not a massive fan) and their Old Tom (too creamy, not sweet enough), so let’s see if today’s offering can pick things up for them. They called it the labrador gin as they liken the flavour to the breed – the gin is traditional, mellow and warming. They even go so far as to say it is playful upfront, which I can get on board with. They fill it with juniper and cardamom and coriander – basically all the good stuff. It seems like they have put aside their more experimental ideas for a moment and gone down the more traditional route. Plus, they donate money from the sales of this gin to the Perthshire Abandoned Dogs Society, so that’s nice.
Ginvent 2018 – Masons Peppered Pear Gin
Day six of Ginvent brings us a special edition gin from Masons in Yorkshire. At the 2017 Harrogate Christmas market they launched their Peppered Pear gin, you might remember their lavender gin from the 2017 Ginvent calender. The Peppered Pear version is made as the name suggests, balancing the sweetness of pears with the heat of pink peppercorns. Although this was a limited edition in 2017, the team at Masons liked it so much that they have continued to make batches of it. They suggest serving this with a slice of kiwi, and the Gin Kiosk folk suggest red apple slices. So, what will it be?