I so nearly wrote my July Gin Monthly on time, but then I went on holiday and now it’s mid-August already. Oops! I guess we better see what I can still remember…

Booze News

Well that’s not a great start! I can’t remember much booze news from July but if you’re a cricket fan you may be interested to hear that Greater Than Gin want your broken bat to build a unique fence at their distillery. And in return you’ll get a bottle of their next Limited Edition Gin! To get involved all you need to do is dig out a bat and complete this form…

New Gin Alerts

Having made a big impression at Junipalooza, Tarquin’s Spiced Watermelon Gin is now available to purchase and, from what I’ve seen, is going down a treat with everyone. Other new releases to catch my eye included Darnley’s Coastal Haar created with sea buckthorn, sugar kelp and marigold petals; Otterbeck Distillery’s Yuzu Cotton Gin created in collaboration with  Michelin star chef Michael Wignall; and Rock Rose Smoked Orange Edition featuring lapsang souchong tea, tangerine sage and lemon verbena.

My Month in Gin

The unchallenged highlight of my month was attending Wimbledon as a guest of Sipsmith, the official gin partner of The Championships. With the company of Gin Monkey, the best seats in Court 1 and free-flowing cocktails it was a definitely a day of perfect serves. We couldn’t have been treated to a better day of play either, opening with plucky Brit Liam Broady, followed by Women’s number 1 seed Iga Swiatek before it really and truly kicked off with Kyrgios vs Tsitsipas. Undoubtedly the match of the day – if not the entire tournament!

I also had the honour of returning to the China Exchange to join the IWSC for a day of judging gin and tonics (it’s a tough job etc!) with Rachel Sutherland of Warner’s Distillery and Sara Jane Eichler of (amongst other things) Negroni Club UK. The results are already out and the biggest congratulations must be extended to Australia’s Seppeltsfield Road Distillers who won not one but two Gold medals.

New Zealand’s Dancing Sands was one of my favourites from the newcomers’ zone at Junipalooza 2018 so it was a huge pleasure to revisit their spirits, and meet the owners Sarah and Ben, at The Groucho Club. Among the amazing atmosphere and artwork of the club we were treated to three tastings of Dancing Sands gins, both neat and in cocktails, accompanied by scrumptious small plates and cracking company. I enjoyed everything but the standout was their Sauvignon Blanc Gin: created by blending vacuum-distilled white wine with their Dry Gin, the result is uniquely crisp and bright with notes of fresh apple and gooseberry.

Finally I saw out the month at the World Drinks Awards Spirits Tasting 2022 organised in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Distillers and held in London’s impressive Vintners Hall. With a huge selection of spirits from all around the world I couldn’t try everything, but I had a lot of fun finding some less familiar bottles including Taiwan’s Valor Sword Gin featuring new make spirit, mango and scallop and matured in Acaia wood!

Welcome to My Collection

Thank you so much to Shoogle Spirits for sending me a sample of their brilliant 500ml aluminium refill bottle, and also to Speciality Brand for a delicious selection of Christian Drouin calvados and gin and to Dancing Sands for our goody bags which included one of their upcycled botanical soaps. This month I was also very lucky to pick up a bottle each of Beefeater Crown Jewel and Greater Than Gin, and a generous neighbour gave me Tanqueray Rangpur Lime which ought to have made my Instagram grid but got devoured rather too quickly!

Catching Up and Looking Forward

If you didn’t catch it in print, my article on sustainable spirits packaging is now live on the Gin Magazine website. As for August, I’ve already enjoyed a lovely summer holiday but I also have a bit of judging lined up before the kids go back to school. See you in a couple of weeks (if I’m on time next time)! 🍸🛎🛎