Two of my favourite things are gin and food, as I’m sure you can see from this site and my social media profiles. This means that I love to see how gin can be used in cooking (check out my cooking with gin series, with both sweet and savoury recipe ideas), and even better how gin can be paired to complement food and vice versa. So when Carl from the Gintleman offered to send me a selection of his gin and food pairings, I couldn’t say no! Read on to see what was included in my Selection box:
Just one example of gin and food pairing with The Gintleman’s gin selection box
*Full disclosure, my Selection Box was gifted in exchange for an honest review, all opinions remain my own*
Gin and food pairing with The Gintleman
What does The Gintleman offer?
The Gintleman specialises in gin themed entertainment, from gin tastings, to full masterclasses, to food and gin pairings. Whilst you can usually book The Gintleman events to attend in person, everything is on hold until the UK fully opens back up. (If you fancy a private event then I’m sure Carl can arrange something over Zoom!). However you can still get The Gintleman gin tasting Selection boxes.
Just some of the different themes that the Gintleman tasting boxes do
What was included in my Selection Box
My selection box included 4 x 50ml samples of different flavoured gin, matching mixers, a gin tasting guide, a fact card and food pairing suggestions for each gin.
You get all this and more in your gin tasting box!
My four flavoured gins and their fact cards for more information on the distilleries and botanicals:
Full of facts! Keepr’s Elderberry, Mulberry & Honey gin & tasting card
I’d never come across Bullace before this gin
I love Silent Pool gin and have visited the distillery for an artisan tasting day before
I first came across sea buckthorn as a gin botanical in Scandinavian gins at the Copenhagen Gin Festival
Pairing the gins with food
On the other side of the fact cards are the tasting notes, serving suggestions and food pairings:
Starters
The Gintleman provides the Adnam’s Orange and Sea Buckthorn gin with FeverTree Clementine tonic. The suggested pairing is butternut squash soup, which you can either make from the Great British Chefs recipe, or you can order via Ocado. I like the fact that Carl also suggests some salad options – I’d love to try it with the salmon too.
The suggested food pairing
Main course
For main course it’s the Silent Pool Spiced Redcurrant gin and Pedrino Ruby Port spritz, paired with lamb (or game, venison or a vegan alternative):
Fabulous colour and fruity flavours for this pairing combination
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I enjoyed this with lamb with a homemade redcurrant sauce, roasted new potatoes and green vegetables. The fruity redcurrants and complex flavours of the mixer & spices meant that this went really well with the lamb dish.
Such a pretty colour too!
Palate cleanser
All of Keepr’s gins use honey and this one combines it with elderberry and mulberry, the blackcurrant tonic amps up the berry flavour. The food pairing for this berry-tastic combination is a lemon parfait or a lemon and lime posset. The citrus flavours will complement the berries.
Another gorgeous colour combination here!
Dessert
Hedgepig wild bullace and quince gin served with FeverTree ginger ale rounds up the meal options. The food pairing is cheese focused, e.g. pear tarte tatin with Gorgonzola ice cream, a cheese board or poached pear with Stilton. Quince and cheese is a classic combination, balancing the sweetness of the fruit with the saltiness of the cheese. This would be a perfect way to end a meal.
Bullace and Quince is perfect for a cheese board or dessert!
The verdict
If you had all 4 gins with the pairing suggestions it would be quite the meal! With a mix of gin-strength and liqueur strength spirits and variety of mixers, I’m sure there is something that will appeal to everyone. Focusing on the flavoured gins is something different than I would pick usually, and the flavour pairings really open my mind to the possibilities.
For £29.95 I think the selection box is good value for money and comparable to gin tasting boxes I’ve tried. The big difference here is that it’s not just tied to one distiller, so you get a themed selection from multiple producers, introducing you to different brands (certainly a few were new to me).
Where can I buy a gin selection box from The Gintleman?
Buy your gin and food pairing box online at The Gintleman website from £29.95. The selection box I was gifted is the Dinner Party box and Carl has plenty of other options available and some additional seasonal boxes. The main box themes are:
- Dinner Party
- Afternoon Tea – gins and mixers matched to afternoon tea foods!
- Bitesize – a Mediterranean gin and tapas themed pairing selection
- West Midlands – a selection of gins made in the West Midlands
Let me know which takes your fancy!
Pin for your gin and food pairing inspiration
Fiona Maclean says
It sounds like a really well thought through concept! I have yet to try all of those gins, though Silent Pool is definitely on my list (it’s not far from where one of our team lives)
Katie says
Thanks Fiona – Carl has put a lot of effort into the matching of spirits and food pairings. I’d totally recommend visiting Silent Pool also!
lovepopupslondon says
Then blackcurrant tonic water sounds lovely
Katie says
I haven’t actually tried that yet Jo – but it’s very different to the normal tonics!
Lillie says
What an adorable and exciting package!
Katie says
It was definitely a great surprise for me! I loved learning more about the gins and pairing them.
Biana says
This sounds like such a nice box either for yourself, or to give as a gift!
Katie says
Yes Biana it would make a great gift!
Alex Ryder says
This sounds like such a great idea – the food pairing is a brilliant idea. The tasting notes look great – I think I might have to get this for myself!
Katie says
It’s definitely worth it for a fab gin and culinary combo!
Emma says
What, you like gin? 😉 This box (and pairings) sound delicious – there are some really interesting ones in there!
Katie says
It really primes the imagination on what pairings are possible!
Chef Mireille says
I have to admit. Gin is not something I think of often with cooking and food. It’s not my go to drink. However, the idea of this variety of gin flavors is something I would love to explore. I just wish it was available here in the US 🙁 – Hopefully he will expand 🙂 – But now you have inspired my to look for more flavored gins here.
Katie says
Thanks Mirielle – I aim to inspire and I hope you can find some flavoured gin