Gin. What can I say about how much I love it as my alcoholic drink of choice. For many year, before it became 'the' drink, I have always had Gin and Tonic and I love that there is now so many varieties, flavours and types, the gift choice is endless and much more fun to source. A friend of mine and I, always try and find the most amazing bottle to give one another each year and I think I will win this year because of Rock Rose Gin, The Winter Edition.
Imagine being told that you can have a Christmas Tree Gin, what a thought! Well here she is all her glory and how fabulous is the bottle? It is said that the Winter Edition has been created with thoughts of bracing walks, roaring fires and dark nights in mind. The original Rock Rose elements have been scaled down to allow the delightful pine, earthy notes from the spruce tips to shine through. If that isn't tempting enough for you, the tasting notes definitely will be.
Botanicals in Gin are really important and the inclusion of Juniper Berries are something you shouldn't be too surprised to see, as with this Gin, they make a great finishing note. The tasting notes for this Gin have been split into three - nose, palette and finish. Having done a Gin tasting event, it was explained how and why you can taste certain elements of tasting note and what to look out for. So for this Winter Edition it is broken down as follows:
- Nose: Freshly cut pine as per the description above is well and truly evident and because it is balanced with orange peel and eucalyptus it is a quite soft taste.
- Palate: You can see taste and smell the pine from the nose but in comes a hint of spicy black pepper which again is subtle but noticeable
- Finish: This for me is where the Gin becomes a star. Here you get the really clean finish of fresh juniper and for that, you will get a slight hint of lemon, almost lemon sherbet without being as sharp because of the inclusion of both lemongrass and cinnamon.
Most of the comments I get from non-gin drinking friends is that they don't like the aftertaste as it is quite bitter, well this isn't bitter and it isn't acidic either, depending on what you pair it with, the taste is actually refreshing. I took advice from Dunnet Bay Distillers and paired mine with tonic and a slice of apple and it was just delightful. I'm not just waiting for my Winter Walk Garnish, another suggestion, to arrive so I can try that too.
This Rock Rose Winter Edition Gin is priced at £37.50 for 700ml and can be found via Dunnet Bay Distillers here or Amazon* too. If you have Gin drinking family members or friends that you usually give a gift too, this is an amazing gift to give.
*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.