Lilliput Dorset Gin
Lilliput Dorset Gin – ABV 40%
Botanicals: including juniper, rosemary, basil, thyme and olives
Garnish: rosemary, a wedge of lime and a Kalamata olive
Flavour profile: Savoury/herbal
Launched in 2017 and already a medal winner, Lilliput Dorset Gin is the brainchild of founder Andy Woodfield who wanted to combine organic botanicals to create a gin that encapsulated the feeling of living on the Dorset coast. Home-grown rosemary, basil from Egypt, thyme from Spain and olives from Greece are infused separately in a grain spirit together with juniper from Sarajevo to create what is, for us, a gin with a very Mediterranean feel.
On the nose there are fresh herbal notes with a touch of pine.
Neat, there is a surprise as the taste of olives is to the fore with smooth basil, juniper, citrus and peppery warmth. This is a complex gin that reminds us more of a summer in the Greek Islands than the Dorset coast.
Add a light tonic and the olive taste is eased back with the rosemary, sweet basil and juniper more evident. We found it more rounded with tonic and more to our taste; a great summer serve, especially with lime and lashings of ice, making it a cool, fresh drink that would perfectly accompany tapas on a Spanish beach, or a Greek salad at an island taverna.
If you like your martini dirty, or indeed any type of martini, Lilliput Gin is a perfect base. We suspect it might have been designed to be served in a martini. The flavours are fresh and bold, but complement each other, an excellent combination for a killer martini.
This is an imaginative gin, bold flavours combining well. It is clearly crafted with care and love, and packaged superbly; we wish it well.
