I have been rather remiss in documenting my recent forays into the world of gins and the Christmas lull seems to be a good time to rectify matters.
Dingle Original Gin
From the south west of Ireland, County Kerry to be precise, this award winning gin from Dingle can be best described as their take on a London Dry Gin, using six traditional botanicals and seven that are locally grown and harvested. So, along with juniper and stalwarts such as coriander and angelica we find rowan berry, fuchsia, bog myrtle, heather, chervil, and hawthorn. The array of local botanicals are not dissimilar to those that would be found in some Scottish gins.
Using their own hand beaten copper still called Aisling, Gaelic for dream, the chaps at Dingle mascerate some of the botanicals for 245 hours before distillation and suspend the others in a gin basket to catch the spirit vapour. Once completed, the distillate is then cut with pure water drawn from their 240-foot deep well which is sited below the distillery to produce the final spirit which has an ABV of 42.5%. Each bottle bears a number and a batch number – mine is 097 from batch 6.
The result is an impressively light clear spirit with the pine of the juniper and the floral notes of the angelica coming through strongly, leavened by a minty undertone and more than a little hint of herbs before finishing off with peppery notes. Complex, light, perhaps with a little too much mint for my taste, it is certainly a distinctive take on a London Dry.
The bottle is made of clear glass and is angular, tapering up to a very broad, rounded shoulder, a medium sized neck and a wooden cap and synthetic stopper. The bottle is packed with information which is a tad difficult to read with these rheumy eyes as it is in small black type against a clear background. Impressive stuff.
Rockpool Gin
A trip to Drinkfinder’s store in Constantine would not be complete without a Cornish gin landing in my basket. Rockpool Gin is produced by Hans and Dagmar at their Roseland Distillery, named after the adjacent stretch of south Cornish coastline. It is another attempt to paint a picture with a gin, the distillers aiming to recreate the charm of the coastline.
The foundation is underpinned by the holy trinity of gin distillation, juniper berries, coriander seeds, and angelica root while the addition of sea buckthorn berries gives both a littoral and fruity twist to a spirit that is clear, intensely satisfying and packs a punch with an ABV of 45%. It goes to prove that less is often more, but whether I found myself transported to sitting on a rock with my toes in a pool is a more open question. Nevertheless, it rates as one of my favourite Cornish spirits.
The bottle too is eye catching with its marine blue glass and undulating shaped bottom, capturing the sensation of the movement of the waves while the elliptical body of the bottle is illustrated with waving sea plants. The broad shoulder repeats the undulating glass work, while the neck leads up to a wooden top and a cork stopper. It certainly stands out!
Until the next time, cheers!
windowthroughtime 