Slingsby

Slingsby Gin – 43%ABV

Botanicals: Madagascan juniper, green and jasmine tea, rosemary, silver posie thyme, citrus thyme, garden thyme, rhubarb, sage, lovage, chervil, cicely, rose hip, moorland heather, hyssop, primrose, oregano, milk thistle, angelica, cassia, orris roots, coriander, liquorice, grapefruit

Garnish – grapefruit peel and blueberry

Beautifully packaged. Opening the presentation box and viewing the gorgeous blue bottle sets expectations high. The attention to detail makes it clear that much love and care have been lavished on this product.

The gin is named after William Slingsby, who discovered natural spring water in Harrogate. The aquifer water and locally sourced grain form the base for the gin. The professed aim is “to capture the essence of Harrogate”.  To do this, it was necessary to use as much local produce as possible. Seventeen of Slingsby Gin’s twenty-four botanicals are sourced from Harrogate or the surrounding area. The luxury hotel Rudding Park assisted and used its own kitchen garden to grow twelve botanicals. The local theme even extends to the gin’s green and jasmine tea, both provided by Taylors of Harrogate. Slingsby also worked with local botanists to source nettle, heather and primrose.

On the nose there are powerful hits of citrus with juniper and herbs peeking through.

Neat, there is a complex mixture of tastes; citrus accompanies the juniper, then sweet herbs join the party with rhubarb and tea gatecrashing and staying long after the others have left. Yum! I could happily drink this on the rocks.

Served with Merchant’s Heart Tonic and garnished with a twist of pink grapefruit, things open out even more. The subtleties of the tastes are more evident, tea, spice and juniper all wafting in plus the underlying hit of candied rhubarb and citrus. Hmm, I think I need another…  

I love sampling a huge variety of gins, but very few get a cherished berth in my drinks cabinet. This did, high praise indeed.