Inspired by Gin a Ding Ding’s #GinadayMay hashtag challenge, I’ve finally gotten around to publishing my top gins of 2018 (a little delayed!)… Anyway, time to catch up now. Read on to see what were my #favourites out of the new gins I tried in 2018 (and I tried a LOT). Plus if you keep going to the bottom of the post you can see how you might be able to win one of the bottles I have to give away:
You could win these gins!
*Full disclosure, I was gifted the competition bottles, this post is not affiliated with any of the mentioned brands, although I may have had previous collaborations with them*
Katie’s top gins of 2018 + give away!
Brentingby
Brentingby launched in August 2018. The brainchild of South African Bruce Midgely, Brentingby has been crafted with the guidance of Tanqueray master distiller Tom Nichol. As such it’s a beautiful drop of London Dry gin, with Tom’s signature whole grapefruit as the lead citrus. This is backed up with classic gin botanicals and a couple of different ones – local birch and floral hibiscus.
It also doesn’t hurt that the bottle is simply bloody gorgeous! The best way to highlight the quality of the gin inside – all aspects of this brand have been well thought through.
Hitting the gin market as fully formed and with a well executed plan, Bruce already has two new releases: Pink gin, that is nothing like a sweet liqueur, but instead uses the infusion of those hibiscus flowers to create a great colour; and Brentingby Black, which instead takes a citrus and spice route to a different, but complementary flavour profile.
Something tells me that Bruce won’t stop there either, so this is definitely one to watch…
Twelve Keys
Made by husband and wife team, Matt & Alex, Twelve Keys entered the UK market last year with a lot of forethought into the whole brand. Including unusual botanicals such as fig, quince, caraway, gentian and frankincense, their signature serve is with fig and coffee beans! I tried their first recipe at Junipalooza and I’ve since had the chance to try their refreshed recipe, which tweaks the same botanicals for a more refined gin.
I first saw and tasted Twelve Keys at Junipalooza
Keep your eyes peeled for their signature cocktail serves – they started with a superb white negroni and aim to have 12 to match their name.
Gower Gin
I first tasted Gower gin at Junipalooza where I met Sian and Andrew Brooks. Complete with matching stripey rugby tops they are very proudly Welsh and make gins that reflect the terroir of the Gower peninsula.
Currently they have three different gins out – Gwyr, Pinwydd and Gwyr: Rhosili. I’ve only tried their flagship Gwyr and Pinwydd, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the inspiration of Dylan Thomas means in gin form!
Woodlab
Woodlab distillery launched 3 products last year. Their classic gin Symphonia number 1, an apple variation, Symphonia number 2 and a fruit cup. Read my recent interview with distiller Ric:
Hidden Curiosities
Jenny has created not one, but two gins now. Along with her original Hidden Curiosities gin, she’s made the new Aranami. At 59% with 23 intriguing botanicals inspired by Japan, it’s a beauty of a gin. So if you saw Hidden Curiosities at last year’s Junipalooza, you now have a reason to visit them again this year!
Renegade Gin
OK I need to admit that I love to drink this gin neat. Having also tried their Baller vodka at the Gin to My Tonic show in Glasgow, I think I could drink that neat too…. This is surely the sign of a hardcore drinker.. I mean amazing quality spirit!
Fresh Rain gin from Boutiquey Gin Co
Boutiquey are known for pushing the boundaries in everything they do and with this range they focused on evocative scents. The way they have gone about to capture the essence and smell of fresh rain is so interesting. Think super geeky, isolating chemical compounds of flavours and analysing botanicals to find those that contain the ones they wanted. The result was four very different aroma lead gins, but my favourite is the Fresh Rain. This has a fabulous mouth feel and I desperately want to try it in a martini as I think it would be cracking!
Campfire Gin
Campfire were the well deserved winners of the World’s Best Martini this year. A cocktail that really showcases a gin, theirs really shone through. With a full range including a Navy strength and a Cask aged gin, I recommend that you check them out.
Turncoat
I first tried Turncoat gin at the Gin to My Tonic Show in Liverpool last year. Then I ran into them again at Catford Gin festival, where distiller Terry had come up with another gin to add to the collection! With Terry’s background in craft brewing, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he is bringing the same inventiveness to the spirit world. Alongside their London Dry gin and vodka, sit Cascade gin – made with Cascade hops, Dragon Tears – made in collusion with Manchester’s Blackjack Brewery, and Bold St Chai, a special edition created with LEAF tea merchants, wonderfully spiced. The addition of their own distilled bitters (to make a perfect Pink Gin cocktail) should be no surprise to anyone.
The Teasmith
This Scottish gin is made with tea as a key botanical – hence the name. I hadn’t really appreciated the Scottish link with tea plantations before delving into their background, then suddenly it was being referenced in a lot of historical novels I was reading! This gin is a lovely contemporary style gin made with great attention to detail. All the little things have been looked into and no detail unconsidered. So what you get is a brilliant package, of taste and class, with a stunning bottle.
Tarsier South East Asian Gin
I met Sherwin and Tim first at the Liverpool Gin to My Tonic show and was instantly drawn to their unique label. The Tarsier is the cute little primate on the bottle and they donate 10% of their profits to support Tarsier conservation. The gin was developed after they backpacked around South East Asia together and then wanted to create something to reflect the flavours they tasted out there. This resulted in a combination of Cambodian Kampot pepper, Philippino Calamansi (a citrus fruit), Thai Sweet Basil and Galangal, to create an exotic and unique gin.
With such a wealth of flavours at their disposal from South East Asia, I’m sure that they will be creating more unique gins in the future! At the moment, I’m enjoying the various cocktails inspired from Sherwin’s background working for Diageo and Funkin.
Hapusa
For me Hapusa was one of the highlights of Junipalooza 2018’s newcomers zone! It’s fab to see gin being made in a country that doesn’t have much domestically made gin (or at least it didn’t when they started). Hapusa is an Indian gin, made with traditional spices that would be found in most Indian kitchens, as well as Himalayan juniper berries. If you can find it, then you need to try it! Nao Spirits are back at Junipalooza this year with their London Dry gin, Greater Than, which I saw behind the bar at several places in Khan Market in Delhi recently.
Dartmouth English Gin
When I first tasted Dartmouth English Gin I didn’t know what I was tasting. That’s because I was one of a panel of judges at the Craft Distilling Expo and all the tasting is performed blind. So when I realised Dartmouth had won Classic Gin of Year I was thrilled for them!
The classic blue and foil label of Dartmouth gin
They’ve since won a whole host more awards and medals for this great gin. Made with herbal notes complementing the juniper, layers of floral and citrus, it’s distilled slowly to give an amazingly smooth mouthfeel. Whilst lovely to drink neat, it also makes for some great cocktails too. If you prefer a classic style gin, then I recommend you check this one out.
Tappers Gin
I first tried the Tapper’s range at the Catford Gin Festival, where I met Steve and his Mum Sue, who remain social media friends. As a small family business, Tappers make their compound gin at home by the seaside in West Kirby, Wirral, near Liverpool. It’s truly small batch, with only 40 bottles being made at a time. Their signature gin is their award winning Darkside, named after what the Liverpudlian day tripper’s called the Wirral on the other side of the River Mersey. They use local botanicals, including a taste of the seaside with red clover, chickweed and foraged sea beet, infused with five other botanicals. The result is a warming herbal gin that’s smooth and with a dry finish.
The essence of British Summer!
But they haven’t stop there. I also tried their Hydropathic Pudding – a gin based fruit cup that really reminded me of my Mum’s Summer Pudding (she’s also a Sue.. co-incidence?!) They produce seasonal gins, as well as limited editions, including Eggcentric – layered with cacao, vanilla and carob for a delightful chocolatey number. I nabbed a bottle of this quickly and they are currently sold out – so if you spot one of the limited edition Tappers, I suggest you buy it!
They also have something else up their sleeve from the look of their website, so keep your eyes peeled!
COMPETITION
As promised at the top of the post, I’m giving away some of my favourite new discoveries from 2018. There are four bottles available:
- Tarsier South East Asian Gin
- Turncoat Bold St Chai
- Renegade Gin
- Dartmouth Gin
To enter you have up to 4 chances, the giveaway will be live on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and the bonus entry is if you sign up to my Gin Lover’s mailing list!
To enter on Twitter
Head to the pinned post at What’s Katie Doing?
❓Would you like to win one of these bottles of gin❓[ad as products gifted]
To enter the competition simply make sure you are following me (give the brands a like too!) like & retweet this post, & reply telling me which of the four gins you’d like to win & who you’d share with! pic.twitter.com/WkWgUrMmIU
— What’s Katie Doing? (@katiebhughes) June 3, 2019
Like and retweet the post and reply telling me which of the four gins you’d like to win & who you’d share with! Don’t forget to show the brands a little love too!
To enter on Instagram
Head to the below post on Instagram
Like and comment which gin you’d like to win and who you would share it with! Don’t forget to show the brands some love too!
To enter on Facebook
Head to this Facebook post
Like and share the post and tell me which gin you’d like to win in the comments! Don’t forget to give the brands some love too!
To enter by signing up to the Gin Lover’s mailing list
Use this link to sign up via Mail Chimp!
What’s Katie Doing Gin Lover’s email list
- The competition runs from Monday 3rd June 2019 through to Sunday 9th June 2019 (over World Gin Day and Junipalooza!)
- Over 18’s only!
- I can only send bottles to UK addresses – sorry!
- Winners will be picked at random, 1 from each of the entry types after I’ve recovered from Junipalooza
GOOD LUCK!
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Steph Whyte says
Love this, I thought I knew my gins but there’s some on here I haven’t heard of! Will add them to my ever growing bucket list! ?
Katie says
Haha I’m glad I’ve discovered some you’ve yet to try Steph!