Irish Gin « Wilson on Wines

I’ll drink to that – an explosion of interest in Irish gin

Posted by admin on June 26, 2017

The number of Irish gins continues to multiply. The latest count is 22, but that may well have increased by the time you read this article. There will be no less than 14 homemade gins on show in pubs around the country for the second Irish Gin & Tonic Fest which starts next week and runs to July 1st.

A pub simply has to serve one of these Irish gins with a tonic water of their choice. You won’t necessarily be able to buy every gin in your local pub (probably a good thing) but there should be a selection to choose from. You can then vote for your favourite G&T online. To see a list of pubs and gins, see greatirishbeverages.com.

Most but not all of the gin distilleries intend producing a whiskey in the future. Whiskey must be aged for at least three years (the legal minimum) and preferably much longer, so gin, which takes only a few hours to distil, provides much needed cash flow.

That is not to denigrate it; there are some delicious Irish gins being produced around the country. Every gin must feature juniper, but thereafter it is up to the distiller. Coriander is traditional, as is some form of citrus, but every gin has a host of other flavours.

Oisín Davis, the man behind the Gin & Tonic Fest, (and also involved in Poacher’s Tonic water) says: “Gin has exploded. Most of them were aspiring to create whiskey but the figures they are getting from their gins are so impressive, it has taken them all by surprise; they have exceeded what they thought they would do for the whiskey.

“It is interesting that most are using farmed or wild Irish botanicals – they are putting their actual locality into a gin. You wouldn’t get that with other spirits. Arguably they have more Irish in them than some whiskeys.’

“Ninety per cent of gin sales are linked to gin & tonic’, according to Davis.

“With a nice gin and nice tonic, you can have a perfectly balanced satisfying drink, a mix of bitter and sweet and then all the other flavours. It tickles all of the sensations on your tastebuds.”

There is a gin to suit everyone.

“My personal preference is for very juniper forward gins but that is simply my taste; there are fruity gins, herbal gins, floral gins”

Eoin Bara of Mór has been delighted with the reaction to his gin.

“I never expected people to love it as much as they do. We get loads of nice things on Facebook and on social media and customers are really getting behind it.’

I have featured many Irish gins here before, but today I include three more recent entries into the market.

A Wicklow gin with herbal aromas, a lovely light fruitiness and an earthy finish.

Bonac 24 Gin

42%

€45-46

A Wicklow gin with herbal aromas, a lovely light fruitiness and an earthy finish.

Stockists: O’Briens; Whelehans; Celtic Whiskey; Higgins.

A wonderfully fragrant gin brimming with fresh fruits on the palate.

Mór Irish Gin

40%

€47-49

From Tullamore, a wonderfully fragrant gin brimming with fresh fruits on the palate.

Stockists: O’Briens, Celtic Whiskey Shop, The Loop.

Classic gin with strong notes of juniper, racy citrus and spicy coriander.

Boatyard Double Gin, The Boatyard Distillery, Lough Erne

46%

€55

Classic gin with strong notes of juniper, racy citrus and spicy coriander.

Stockists: Musgrave N. Ireland, O’Briens, Celtic Whiskey, The Loop, Belfast International Airport.

Tags: Boatyard Double Gin, Bonac 24, Irish Gin, Mór Gin

Posted in: Irish Times

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Seasonal Irish Gin

Posted by admin on May 9, 2016

The Irish Times was, in some small way, responsible for Ireland’s first seasonal gin. In the 2014, the brains behind Glendalough Irish Whiskey decided to make a gin tasting of summer but had no idea how to go about it. Then they read an article by Emma Somers in this paper about Wicklow forager Geraldine Kavanagh. They contacted Kavanagh who provided local ingredients for Glendalough Summer Botanical Gin. She now works full-time for them.

We took a stroll through the Wicklow countryside together. Kavanagh, a fount of knowledge, showed me most of the wild shoots, flowers and plants used in Glendalough Wild Spring Botanical Gin, as well as other edible wild plants. “We are tying to capture the essence of Wicklow; something different and local,” she says. This year they are increasing production from 3,000 bottles to cope with a burgeoning demand.

Not to be outdone, Dingle Distillery has released its Four Seasons Gin, containing four small 200ml bottles, each representing a season. Unlike Glendalough, they are all available at the same time, providing a very interesting tasting.

We worked through all four in the Dingle Whiskey Bar on Nassau Street, Dublin. The spring gin is the lightest and most floral, the summer still delicate but more textured. The autumn, many people’s favourite, has more earthy spice with red fruits, and the winter gin is spicier and most full-bodied of all.

Peter Mulryan of Blackwater Distillery in Cappoquin, Waterford, had something of an artistic struggle with his seasonal gin. “We wanted to take one key local botanical to represent each season, and decided on Wexford strawberries for our first. The problem with strawberries is you get mostly water,” says Mulryan. “So we had to use massive amounts of fresh fruit. It is an elusive flavour but we think we have got it right. We are now macerating the distilled gin in strawberries.”

He plans to release Wexford Strawberry Gin in June. In the meantime you can try his Juniper Cask Gin. It is fascinating, with sweet woody juniper aromas.

Shortcross Gin from Co Down does not make a seasonal gin, but forages wild clover to use alongside apples and elderberries for its standard gin.

As to the vexed question of tonic, Dingle served its with Fever-Tree, a choice Gary McLoughlin of Glendalough Distillery agrees with. However, he did suggest trying Thomas Henry, a German tonic made without quinine. I prefer to sip mine lightly chilled with a little water, and enjoy the unique flavours of these delectable gins.

Dingle Four Seasons Gins.
46%
€60

A selection of four very different gins, so no tasting notes.

Stockists; Widely available in good off-licences.

Glendalough Wild Spring Botanical Gin
41%
€43.49

Wonderfully aromatic, light and refreshing. Plenty of juniper, with spring flowers and zesty citrus.

Stockists: Celtic Whiskey; James Fox; Mitchell & Sons; Redmond’s and other specialist off-licences.

Blackwater No.5 London Dry Gin
41.5%
€33

My current favourite, a delicious mix of citrus, juniper and earthy spices.

Stockists: Widely available in good off-licences.