Ginmas Week 3
So apologies for this post being a day late. Should have had it up yesterday but <insert long list of pathetic excuses involving a to do list longer than your arm and a five hour lunch with a client> ….
Another week of seven different gins and Ginmas Week 3. Eek! I wasn’t sure this would actually work and that I would be able to keep it up for a whole month, posting at 6pm but I seem to be doing fine, though this weekly round up seems to be thing that is slipping. Ahem. And of course next Monday it will be Boxing Day. Double Eek.
Are you all set for Christmas? I am not, I have to say. I have been focussing on clearing out wardrobes and doing lots of other house things that could probably have waited but we have had to clear a couple of rooms to have some rewiring done so it seemed the ideal time to do it. You know, two weeks before Christmas and you think it is a good idea to rip up carpets and lift floorboards? We must have been mad but at least it is done and we are not running all the electrics for the front two rooms off an extension lead trailing down the stairs anymore.
But back to the gin.
The first one last week was Caorunn
The old Gaelic word for Rowan berry is Caorunn and it forms the heart of this gin that takes its name. Another London gin made in Scotland but this one is packed with 11 botanicals including heather, bog myrtle ( I think I went to school with her), coul blush apples and dandelion leaves. Made in 1000 litre batches in the world’s only copper berry chamber it’s fair to say this gin is pretty unique. It’s also unique to say it should be served with a slice of apple rather than lemon to really bring out the foraged flavours of the botanicals.
Tuesday and it was Hayman’s Old Tom, emphasis on the old!
Many of the gins featured during #ginmas have been new kids on the proverbial block, this one however is the granddaddy of them all. Gin making in this family can be traced back to 1863. Haymans Gin is made from 10 botanicals in a copper still called Marjorie, named after the founder’s granddaughter Distilling alcohol for medicinal purposes during WW2 that members of the family were not allowed to join the army!
Wednesday was rewiring day and I was ready for a gin at 10am but hung out for this one, and it was certainly worth the wait. Called Sikkim
A blue gin. Day 14 of #ginmas and it’s the first from India. This one is prepared with a base of red tea made in the Tibetan region of Sikkim. It’s a part of India known for some of best teas in the world. Very close to Nepal and Tibet, and a gateway to the tea routes from China. It is made in copper stills dating back to 1831. This one is properly fruity as it also contains blackberries, iris, coriander and blueberries so the flavour is almost floral
The fourth one this week was from the USA, San Francisco to be precise, Distillery 209
Gin 209 today from my #ginmas calendar. Well not my 209th, don’t be ridiculous even I couldn’t do that many in a month, this is my 15th in my gin a day postings. And this one is from San Francisco, one of the greatest cities on earth. I was only there for a day but fell in love with the place. I was too busy singing Otis Redding literally whilst sitting on the dock of the bay to notice this distillery on Pier 50 which is a shame as it’s the only one in the world built above water William Scheffler who founded the company had a background in wine making and when he registered a distillery in the Napa Valley in 1882 it was licence number 209 so that’s how the gin got its name. The distillery moved to the coast, the birth place of the gin martini coincidentally, in the 90s as the new owners had big plans and the site in Napa Valley wasn’t big enough. It’s a gorgeous gin with a secretive blend of botanicals, could be 8, could be 11 that come from four continents and is great with a splash of lemonade and a twist of orange peel.
Friday night and the start of the last weekend before Christmas! Cucumber Gin
This one is like summer in a glass. It’s refreshing and crisp. Cucumber and gin just go together so brilliantly. When you first drink it you just think “oh yes that works” And in fact for anybody who has never tried gin before or thinks they don’t like it (as I did a few years ago) this would be my suggestion as a first try. Perfect in the summer as a long drink with lots of ice and lemonade. Still pretty darn perfect in the middle of December to be honest.
Pickerings Gin is a firm favourite of mine, especially in a bauble!
Every year there is a must have toy and you don’t hear about it and know you need it until it’s sold out and then you spent hours trawling the internet for it. ‘This year that toy was wasn’t a toy it was a bauble. Filled with gin. When I first heard about these they were already the “must have” after being featured in articles in the press all over the world. I spotted that they were at the Good Food Show last month and tweeted them to ask if they’d have any for sale and they said they did and not only that they’d save me some. Woohoo. Christmas made. The gin is made in Scotland from an old Indian recipe first found in 1947 It’s a warm and spicy one
The final gin for last week (though not the final one we drank. That was a gorgeous gin called Fifty Pounds, but more of that next week) was this one called Monkey 47
This gin is from the Black Forest and has 47 botanicals in it including six different types of pepper! The list of botanicals is endless and makes you go “what?!” How on earth they ever came up with them baffles me. But it does lead to this being a really unique tasting gin. Not one I am sure I like if I am honest but, well that had to be one!
Once again sorry for handing in my gin home work late. I must try harder next week!