What is your favourite gin? Week 2 of my Ginmas posts and these are the gins I am enjoying this week
Another week, another seven gins! This is a little snapshot of the seven gins I shared on week two of Ginmas. How can it now be half way through the month?! For every item I cross off the “to do” list it seems two more get added. But at least all the Christmas presents that have arrived or been bought have been wrapped. Just the last few to arrive now, please don’t let me down Amazon!
As always my go to place for buying gin is the Gin Parlour, and I really cannot thank them enough for their help with this year’s Ginmas, and of course for stocking and selling my Blogger Gin (which features next week, by the way. Spoiler alert).
So here we go, here is a little bit about the above gins.
Sipsmith
This is my favourite gin to have as a hot toddy. Mixed with lemon and cinnamon is the perfect pick me up after a day of Christmas shopping. Especially if served with a big chunk of ginger cake. If you want a recipe for both, then do check out this blog post: Warm Gin and Ginger Cake
Darnley’s
This gin is distilled in Fife but it’s got flavours from far and wide. Juniper from Southern Europe, lemon peel from Spain, coriander from Morocco, Angelica root from France and orris root from the Benelux countries. Plus elderflowers from the local estate in Fife. I did a bit of forward planning on this shot as I knew I would be out at 6pm, my usual posting time over on Instagram. I think it might have enjoyed its trip to John Lewis More than I did!
Sweet Potato
For years people thought my avatar was a potato, to the extent that my blog tagline is “I’m not a sodding potato” I was so sick of saying “I’m a duck, not a sodding potato” it stuck. So why didn’t I make my gin with sweet potato as these chaps at Ask for An SP have done? Think moonshine but at the next level. It IS a sodding potato! How epic is that? A gin made from sweet potato. Genius.
HMS Victory
From the Isle of Wight distillery. It’s the first Navy Strength Gin I’ve featured this year. Navy strength is 57% whereas a standard gin strength is kicking around the mid 40s. Naval laws in the 18th century states that all ships must carry a supply of gin. Unscrupulous distillers and suppliers would often dilute the gin and the navy, rightly, needed to find a way to check. Often it was stored below deck adjacent to the gunpowder and some savvy officers began to realise that if the gin spilt onto the gunpowder and the gunpowder smoked or failed to light at all, it was diluted gin. Only if the gunpowder still lit was the gin at least 114 proof (or as we know it today, 57% ABV). And so it became known as Navy Strength. After a time the officers of the navy used this simple test to ensure they were getting gin of the proper strength. In fact, it was gunpowder proof.
And if you have too many it will blow your head off too
Williams
This would be a good one. Made from Chase Vodka in Herefordshire the whole lot is done on the family farm from start to finish, including the water.
The Co-Op
This gin is the latest from The Co-Op and has been developed with the help of members, along with a Pinot Grigio and an Ale. There is a cripsness to this gin that I really like. It was only launched last month and I can see this being a big seller this year.
Edinburgh Gin
This company make some fabulous gin liqueurs which are perfect if you think you don’t like gin but want to try something fruity. This particular gin though is their classic London Dry style gin.
A clean, zesty, juniper-forward gin which balances softness with bright citrus. Launched in 2010, this is our modern London Dry gin, with a nod to Scotland in its recipe including native plants and botanicals.
A unique blend of fourteen botanicals includes lavender, pine buds, mulberries and cobnuts. Orange peel, lemongrass and lime peel contribute lively citrus notes. Created by hand in our West End and Leith distilleries, this is a delightfully crisp gin with a distinctively smooth finish.
That’s it for this week gin lovers! More next week with Ginmas week 3