W L
SIPSMITH
BY THE CQ
SIPSMITH
Gin is now the most popular spirit in the UK . One of the driving factors in the UK ’ s gin explosion in recent years has undoubtedly been the emergence of a large number of craft distillers who have made , and continue to make , a variety of wonderful hand crafted gins .
One of the gins I have been enjoying over the last couple of years has been a classic London Dry Gin from one of the many wonderful little distilleries that has appeared over the last 10 years or so . So - welcome to Sipsmith !
THE VISIT
The first thing I should point out is that the Sipsmith distillery is in Chiswick , West London , tucked away in a leafy residential suburb of our capital city . So not exactly local for most of us that will be reading this months edition of Wirral Life !
Anyway the visit included a talk on both the history of gin and on the Sipsmith story itself . All in all a history lesson really – but nothing like the history lessons that I remember from school ! The talk was interesting , it was informative and it was enjoyable . The talk on the history of gin was fascinating . As to Sipsmith , their story started in 2009 when they became , amazingly , London ’ s first copper distillery for nearly 200 years . Their gins are hand crafted in small batches in three beautiful copper stills named Prudence , Patience and Constance ! Great names , great place and great gins .
The visit also included a visual , working , tour of the distillery from close quarters . To visualise perhaps think of a modern day Willy Wonka chocolate factory , but one that makes gin – smart , chic , cosmopolitan , funky and fascinating .
Of course it wasn ’ t all about listening and looking . It was , as you might have guessed , about tasting too . So what did we taste ? Here we go :
1 . First up was Sipsmith ’ s ‘ London Cup ’. This was described as a ‘ punch ’ and , effectively , is their answer to Pimm ’ s . It is made from their classic London Dry Gin , but here infused with earl grey tea , borage , lemon verbena and rose petals . We tasted this with tonic , tonnes of ice and with a sizeable amount of fruit thrown in to boot . Whilst we tasted it with tonic , this would also work wonderfully well with lemonade , again with plenty of ice and fruit . Perhaps try it with strawberries , raspberries , grapes or any other red fruit . In fact it would work wonderfully well with almost any fruit ; just depends on what takes your fancy really ( no hard and fast rules here ). This was a fabulous little punch . Refreshing , tasty , quenching and delicious in equal measure . Definitely one for drinking when the sun is out although , I suspect , some degree of care should be exercised . I imagine it would be very easy for several bottles to simply vanish on a hot day !
2 . Next up was the classic London Dry Gin . As already mentioned I had already drunk this on a number of occasions before my visit ; but not neat !! This , along with the rest of the other gins tasted , was drunk ‘ solo ’ ( no tonic , no mixer , no ice and no fruit – just the gin ). Doing so is , actually , a great way of being able to smell and taste the actual gin before anything else is put in the glass with it . As a classic gin it is juniper led . Other botanicals include angelica root , coriander seed , cassia bark , orris root , ground almond , cinnamon bark , liquorice root , lemon peel and orange peel . The nose is fresh with clear and obvious hints of citrus fruit and some floral notes . On the palate the juniper is clear and obvious , but finely balanced with some citrus and a touch of pepper . This , even neat , was a beautifully balanced , delicious , smooth , aromatic , clean and even slightly sweet gin . This is everything a great classic gin should be . Don ’ t just think ‘ G & T ’ here ( although it makes a great ‘ G & T ’), but also martini ' s and other gin based cocktails . It can do the lot .
3 . Next – ‘ Lemon Drizzle Gin ’ Wow ! Now I love lemon drizzle cake , and this was as near as you will get to one that can be poured into a glass ! Essentially we start with the classic London Dry Gin again , but now with a lot of lemon ‘ bits and bobs ’ added . These lemon ‘ bits and bobs ’ include lemon verbena , lemon peel and what are described as “ vapour infused fresh lemons ”. On the nose , as you might guess , you get citrus notes and a lovely touch of sweetness . On the palate you also get the lemon , but it is somehow subtly zesty and not overpowering . It
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