On numerous occasions we have guests who come in to a tasting and when I say the words; 'I would like to encourage you to taste it neat', the look on their faces scares me too. Look, it's not like you go to a bar and ask for a shot of neat gin. It's usually tequila, Jager, or vodka. Now she's asking me to taste it neat?! There is method to my madness. I had a gentleman in the distillery who told me he had never tasted brandy neat, yet is a brandy drinker. How does he drink his brandy then? Of course a few blocks of ice and Cola, or diet Cola. So when I asked him what he...
Last year we were asked to experiment with some recipes for an exclusive release gin. The brief was it needs to be predominantly citrus in flavour and aroma and have an ABV of 57%... Navy Strength! So I thought this would be a great opportunity to explain how we would go about this. Not as easy as you would think. At a higher (57%) ABV, the botanicals and their respective ratios we use, would need to be robust enough to shine through regardless of the spirit strength. Of course in our distillery Juniper takes center stage, with coriander and green cardamom not far behind. I created 9 recipes. As the brief was that it needs to be citrus forward, I macerated 6 of the recipes for 48hrs...
Yes you read that right. Rhum Agricole is a type of Rum. But you need to say it with a French accent. Why? Because it is a French style rum distilled from sugar can juice in the French Caribbean islands. So lets get back to basics. A rum is a distilled or produced spirit from any part of sugar cane. That can be the freshly pressed sugar cane juice (Rhum Agricole), the molasses (sugar cane by-product) or even the sugar itself (treacle). The reason its called a Rhum Agricole is because it is made solely by fermenting and distilling the agricultural product of pressed sugar cane juice. This juice has not undergone any further treatment or processing and is considered...
As you say the word 'Vanilla' its almost as if you can taste it. This sultry and sweet aroma hits your nose and immediately your mouth starts to water.
We use this spice (yes, spice) to infuse our Pink Lady gin. We'd love for you to come see for yourself. It's a rare commodity and has become exceptionally expensive.
The whole week you have been looking forward to weekend drinks with friends and when Saturday comes round, you reach for the booze cabinet and pull out your favouite tipple. Only to notice that its a bit cloudy...odd. You have a minor melt-down because its your fave and and so you ask the question: Is it off?
