Words by Leigh Andrews
It’s finally that time of year when the birds wake you up in the morning instead of your alarm, the parks are full of sunbathers and picnics, and you’ve got round to cleaning up the barbecue after the final one of last year (we all do it!). All we need now are some fabulous gins to complete the glorious summer! Look no further, we have some crackers here to brighten up any summer day!
Pollination Gin
With a name evoking visions of nature and busy bees flitting between the flowers, this small-batch, multi-award winning Welsh gin is so exceptionally smooth, piney, herbaceous, light and fresh that it will give you a fabulous glimpse of the glorious Welsh flora and fauna without you ever having to leave your back garden. 20 of its 29 botanicals are sustainably foraged from species native to the Dyfi Valley UNESCO Biosphere reserve, in the Snowdonia foothills where Dyfi distillery calls home. Due to this, it’s only available for a limited time in the year so go on, improve your summer tenfold by grabbing a bottle while you can! Try it served with lots of ice, quality tonic and some juniper berries or a generous piece of lemon peel.
Size: 500ml
ABV: 45%
Find Here: £34.95
Downpour Pink Grapefruit Gin
You may look at the name of this gin and think that we are picking this one because of people’s perception of a good old British summer! Nope, the name does not lie, it is an absolute Downpour….. of FLAVOUR! This incredible pink grapefruit gin from North Uist distillery not only comes in an absolutely stunning bottle (which we will be keeping to upcycle!) but the gin inside is an explosion of grapefruit citrus flavours that will leave your mouth watering for more. There is no mistaking the sweet freshness of hand-peeled pink grapefruit zest and this continues to shine through when you add tonic and a generous wedge of pink grapefruit. There is nothing rainy-day about this gin!
Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £40
Rosemullion Summer Gin
When a gin tells you it’s Summer Gin you have an expectation in your head…..bright, fresh, citrus, fruity…and Rosemullion is all of those and more. Distilled near Falmouth in Cornwall using their own fermented base spirit with Cornish rainwater and local botanicals, this multi-award-winning Cornish gin, in its gorgeous bottle, has a beautifully warming peppery finish. It would be absolutely perfect for sipping on whilst sitting out on a balmy summer evening just as the sun is going down. Take yourself to the gorgeous Cornish coastline with this beautiful gin, served with lots of ice, Mediterranean tonic and a raspberry garnish or if you’re feeling extravagant, pop the champagne and make a French 75 cocktail!
Size: 700ml
ABV: 40%
Find here: £35
York Gin Old Tom
Distilled in the ancient city of York this absolutely fantastic Old Tom Gin is perfect for the glory days of summer. An Old Tom is one of the oldest styles of gin and is sweeter than its contemporary London Dry gin. This Old Tom though comes with even more superb provenance in the name of the Michelin Star restaurant Star Inn in York! The herb infused syrup used to sweeten this Old Tom is produced in their kitchen! The gin itself is nothing short of incredible. So smooth you could drink it neat over ice, a beautiful sweetness with lots of fabulous floral notes from the foraged hedgerow botanicals and Yorkshire white roses. Try it neat over lots of ice, tonic and a garnish of pink peppercorns/star anise, or, for a sumptuous simple summer cocktail, in a Tom Collins!
Size: 700ml
ABV: 42.5%
Find here: £35.45
Decem London Dry style
Here’s another chef connection! This time to Masterchef finalist Billy Wright, the brains behind this spirit. Now before we go any further we need to break it to you….this is reduced alcohol (10% ABV) so not officially a gin, but before you decide to read the next one, stay exactly where you are (we’re watching you!) as this spirit has been carefully distilled to retain all of the flavour of a really good gin without the 37.5% required ABV. Served as a traditional G&T with tonic and a wheel of lemon this is superbly fresh, think juniper, freshly cut grass, lots of fresh green herbs and citrus. For the sake of not having burnt barbecue sausages from the tipsy chef, this is exactly the summer drink you need!
Size: 700ml
ABV: 10%
Find here: £30
Brixham Market Garden Gins
For a little change, we are featuring not one but two gins from this distillery set in the beautiful seaside fishing town of Brixham in the Torbay district of Devon. The reason? They have two fantastic summery gins, made using fresh local ingredients, that will evoke memories of summer’s past and perfect sunny days.
So without further ado…
Market Garden Strawberry Gin
Made using beautiful juicy fresh strawberries from their local green grocer, this full strength gin is not overly sweet and the freshness of those gorgeous strawberries is instantly apparent along with that beautiful pink hue. The strawberries are slowly steeped with pink peppercorns giving it a wonderful warming finish, fabulous for those glorious sunny afternoons with great friends. To bring out that gorgeous strawberry, serve it simply with lots of ice and go easy on the tonic (2:1 ratio), garnish with a strawberry and a sprig of lightly crushed mint. We want that strawberry to shine as bright as the sun!
Size: 50ml, 350ml and 700ml
ABV: 37.5%
Find here: from £5 to £39
Market Garden Rhubarb and Ginger Gin
Ok, so this one took those of us who may or may not be 70’s children (a lady never tells her age!) right back to gorgeous days in the summer holidays, being given a stick of rhubarb from your Mum, fresh out of the garden and a little brown paper bag of sugar to dip it in! By slow steeping the locally sourced rhubarb in this full-strength gin, it infuses its delicate colour and superb flavour and is incredibly fresh! There’s a hint of citrus and then that wonderfully subtle kick of ginger spiciness on the finish. Rhubarb is definitely for so much more than crumble! Serve with lots of ice, light tonic and a slice of fresh ginger.
Size: 50ml, 350ml and 750ml
ABV: 37.5%
Find here: from £5 to £39
To see more of our gin recommendations, make sure you check out The Best Eco-Friendly Gins or The Best Flavoured Gins for your Money!
