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THE LAUNCH OF TALBOT GIN
Wirral Life talk to Nicola Palios from The Talbot Restaurant
about the launch of the new 'Talbot' gin.
Why did you decide to launch your own gin?
For years the Riverhill has been known as somewhere to come
and eat or have a celebration, but it hasn’t particularly been
somewhere that people would think of coming just for a drink.
We wanted to change that perception when we rebranded as
the Talbot Bar & Restaurant, and as part of that we introduced
a much more adventurous drinks offering, including a range
of around 20 different gins. But we wanted to have something
quite unique and so we decided to produce our own bespoke
gin, Talbot Gin.
How did you go about doing it?
I knew we would need proper professional help – making a
flavoured gin, like slow gin or rhubarb gin, isn’t difficult but
making a classic gin and getting the botanicals right requires
a very sophisticated palate. We were very fortunate in being
able to keep it in the family - my father, Jim Coulson, is now
retired but has been for nearly 40 years a Fellow of the British
Society of Flavourists. He started working for Unilever (where
he created the first non-mint flavour toothpastes, for children)
before running his own flavours business, where he was the
creator of spirits and liqueurs for producers all over the world,
including Baileys. So when we wanted someone to produce a
gin unique to the Talbot he was the obvious person to ask – and
as a keen gin drinker he didn’t take much persuading!
What was involved in coming up with the Talbot Gin recipe?
Lots of testing and tasting! Dad tried dozens of different
combinations of aromatics before he settled on the right one.
I’m not sure he really needed to try as many combinations as he
did, but he tells me it was essential.
So what are the aromatics in Talbot Gin?
It is quite a complex blend – of course like all gins it starts with
juniper berries, but there are also coriander seeds, angelica root,
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oriental peppers, fennel seeds and lavender flowers. The result is
a lovely fresh, peppery floral gin.
What’s the best way to serve it?
We recommend it is served with Fever Tree Aromatic or
Elderflower tonic water – but one of the nice things about gin is
you can play with the accompaniments a bit to individualise it.
What has the feedback been?
It’s been brilliant. We had the rep from one of the major
commercial alcohol distributors try it without telling him what
it was, and he was a big fan. And the feedback from customers
has been great. I think gin fans always like trying something a
little bit different, especially when it is handmade and in small
runs.
Is gin what you major on in the Talbot Bar?
We do have a very extensive list of gins but darks (whiskies and
rums) are also becoming very popular and we do cocktails and
craft beers too. The Brimstage beers have been very popular – I
think people like buying local produce, and it’s very much in
keeping with the philosophy we are using for the food, where
we are trying to support local businesses.
So what’s next?
We are looking at producing a flavoured gin particularly for
Christmas – we are working on that right now and hope to have
it launched by the end of October, in time for the Christmas
parties to start. We have a great log burner in the bar area so
as the cold nights draw in I can’t think of anything nicer than
settling down in front of the fire with a Christmassy gin. It
will also make a great way to kick off Christmas parties in the
restaurant.
To find out more, call The Talbot on 0151 653 3773.