The story of Daffy’s gin is the story of a four year quest to make the best gin in the world and by jimmy it was a worthwhile quest, and it’s why it is my gin of the month for August.
Made from grain spirit imported from France it is then mixed with eleven botanicals in an old copper whisky still in Edinburgh. This attention to detail creates one of the most amazing tasting gins I have ever tried. I have followed Daffy’s online for ages and had seen people enthusing about the taste (and seen medals being awarded) but only got to taste it last month and instantly fell in love with it.
The bottle is gorgeous, with a picture of Daffy, the Goddess of Gin, it creates a talking point on any gin shelf. Some of the botanicals are familiar (juniper, obviously or it wouldn’t be gin) such as orris root and cassia bark but what sets Daffy’s apart from any other gin I have tried is the addition of Lebanese mint. Such a great flavour, and if you then add your own garnish of mint to your long gin and tonic, or in my case lemonade and a big chunk of lemon, you get the most extraordinary drink. The botanicals are gathered from Italy (the lemon peel) to Indonesia (the cassia bark) with Balkan States and Belgium in between to come together to make a really great tasting gin.
They are also very specific about the ABV, it is 43.4% and in their own words, here is why:
Many gins bottle at 37.5%, many at 40% and many much stronger. For us and our gin, 43.4% is the perfect balance of strength and flavour. Any stronger and the spirit becomes punchier, a little more closed and with a burn that breaks the concentration. Any weaker and the balance and complexity becomes too diluted and the heart of the gin becomes less strong.
At 43.4% Daffy’s complexity is perfectly balanced. Strong bodied with many levels of well balanced freshness, notes of citrus and mint, toffee, caramel and chocolate underpinned with a solid woody character like that of malt whisky. When enjoyed straight Daffy’s is well rounded and smooth with a long finish.
People often ask me what my favourite gin is and I find that a really hard question to answer because it depends what mood I am in, where I am, who I am with etc. Quite often it is the gin right in front of me at 6pm on a Friday night because it signifies the weekend, and I don’t much care for the contents I am ashamed to say, I just NEED the drink. Daffy’s though is up there with the best of them, and when people ask me in future which ones are my favourite this is definitely going to get a mention.
It is available from all good gin merchants or direct from Daffy’s Gin
(If you want to see some of my other favourite gins, do check out my A to Z of gin post that I wrote a while ago)