With sales of gin fizzing, we take a look at some of these British spirit innovators who are based on the coast and find out how the location shapes their product.
Words Anne-Claire Heels
Unless you never set foot inside a spirits-selling establishment of any kind, you can’t have failed to notice the huge resurgence of gin in recent years. There has been an explosion of small-batch brands onto a market once dominated by the world’s drinks giants – stirring up the category with a range of exciting flavours.
And while many people may long have associated gin with the sea and all things naval thanks to the stalwart that is Plymouth Gin, which has been producing its famous spirit at the city’s Black Friars Distillery since the 1700s, a host of those new distilleries have also sprung up in coastal areas. And they are winning fans the world over, not to mention industry awards for meticulous production, great taste and stylish bottle designs. We thought it high time coast raised a glass to these creative new businesses – here’s to their success.
ADNAMS COPPER HOUSE DRY GIN
Adnams of Southwold is well known as an award-winning brewer, but it’s making a name for itself as an award-winning distiller too. Producing spirits in its Suffolk base since 2010, its Copper House Dry Gin is a classic ‘juniper’ gin, with hibiscus flower adding extra interest to the flavour profile. Best for martini lovers – but it works well in a Tom Collins too (£26.99/70cl, adnams.co.uk)
ROCK ROSE PREMIUM SCOTTISH GIN
Multi award-winning Rock Rose hails from Scotland’s Dunnet Bay. Seabuckthorn and rose root help to flavour this prized spirit, and each bottle is filled, hand-waxed, batch-numbered and signed at the distillery. Best for creating a wonderful G&T. Founders Claire and Martin Murray mix it with Fever Tree tonic, using orange zest and rosemary as garnish (£34/70cl, dunnetbaydistillers.co.uk)
DINGLE ORIGINAL GIN
Dingle Distillery is located on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, and this spirit is no less impressive, as a growing number of taste awards will testify. A traditional dry gin, its botanicals are chosen to reflect the Kerry landscape and include rowan berries, bog myrtle and heather. The recommended serve is with large cubes of ice, a wedge of fresh orange, and juniper berries. (€36/70cl, dingledistillery.ie)
FISHERS GIN
Fishers Gin is the brainchild of a master distiller and an Oxford University botanist, with the aim of reviving the wild and forgotten flavours of the English coastline. The starting point is barley from East Anglia, and among those foraged botanicals are wood aven and rock samphire – this is a gin rooted in the sea if you will. Create interesting cocktails – there are lots of recipes inspired by seafaring on its website (£39.95/50cl, fishersgin.com)
POETIC LICENSE NORTHERN DRY GIN
‘When it comes to our handmade spirits, expect the unfamiliar,’ promises the bold team behind this Sunderland-based, prize-winning product. Juniper, green cardamom, pepper and Persian lime make for a floral but spicy gin that will stand out in classic cocktails – try it in a Negroni. It's for wild spirits who like to buck the trend (£34.95/70cl, poeticlicensedistillery.com)
ISLE OF HARRIS GIN
What makes Isle of Harris Gin so distinctive is the inclusion of hand-harvested sugar kelp from the sea among its botanicals – for a true taste of the ocean this is the gin for you – and the beautiful bottle is surely destined to become a design classic. It has a unique taste – team it with Walter Gregor’s Scottish Tonic Water (long) or with a few drops of Isle of Harris sugar kelp aromatic water (short) (£37/70cl, harrisdistillery.com)
BLUE BOTTLE DRY GIN
From the Three Fingers Distillery in Guernsey, Blue Bottle Dry Gin is all about attention to detail. Expect a hand-crafted spirit with local gorse flowers and Indonesian cubeb pepper among its premium botanicals, in a distinctive heavy glass bottle with a detailed drawing of its surprisingly beautiful namesake. It has a sophisticated flavour that’s bold and unusual (£41.99/70cl, bluebottlegin.gg)
START POINT SALCOMBE GIN
Pure water from Dartmoor is used in production, and citrus fruits feature strongly in the botanicals, in a nod to the famous Salcombe Fruiters ships that imported such cargo traditionally. The distiller also has a gin school where you can learn to make it yourself. Even better, the yacht delivery service will bring a Salcombe Gin hamper directly to your vessel (£37.50/70cl, salcombegin.com)
Read next Make Your Own Gin at this Devon Gin School
TARQUIN’S DRY GIN
Family-owned Southwestern Distillery produces Tarquin’s Dry Gin in small batches in Cornwall – it won Gold at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2016. Devon violets are the unexpected botanical here, adding a unique freshness to the taste. Best used in The Cornish Martini, which is 5 parts Tarquin’s Gin, 1 part dry vermouth and a drop of Tarquin’s Cornish Pastis (£32.50/70cl, southwesterndistillery.com)
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