“If you don’t like gin it’s probably because you are drinking the wrong one.”
That’s a little quote there from our good friends at the Blackwater Distillery, and we’d be inclined to agree! But it raises a good point, how do you go about choosing a decent gin? Well, we recommend that you start looking closer to home. It’s hard to walk into any Irish pub nowadays without hearing the words ‘craft beer’ being bandied about by a chap with a moustache, but lesser heard about is Ireland’s rapidly growing industry of craft gin distilleries.
If you’d had a glass of gin in the Middle Ages it would have been a herbal medicine for that perpetual sniffle you had, but thankfully it’s since evolved into the delicious spirit we all know and love. It’s the juniper berries, the main ingredient in any gin worth it’s tonic, that are responsible for that refreshing, summery taste. While it’s long been a beloved spirit, the trendiness of gin has shot through the roof in recent years and you’ll no doubt have noticed more and more choice on the shelves of your local off-licences and bars.
This is all thanks to a few innovators making gin on a smaller scale than the larger established brands, going back to age old recipes and ingredients. Always quick to adapt, Ireland has joined in with small craft distilleries dotted around the country. But which to try first?! Below are just a couple of great Irish gins from our catalogue.
Thin Gin
Thin Gin was recently voted the Best Irish Gin at the Irish Whiskey Awards. It provides a distinctive, home grown Irish taste.
“Thin Gin is an Irish dry, using all Irish grown botanicals such as apples, wild thyme, elder flowers, white clover and tansy. It has a distinctive juniper perfume mingled with strong citrus notes of orange, lemon and lime on the nose.”
That’s making us feel like cocktails in the sun just reading about it, let alone tasting!
Blackwater Distillery
Hailing from Cappoquin, this gin is a Waterford wonder. Our favourites are the Blackwater No. 5 and the Juniper Cask, Ireland’s first aged gin. But what makes them so special?
“Well, when designing it we didn’t (as many do) look into the local hedgerows, but rather we took ourselves off to the local archives and here we dug into the Blackwater Valley’s rich and largely overlooked Anglo-Irish past.”
The incredibly dedicated team scoured over records to find botanicals that were only imported into Ireland by White’s of Waterford during the 19th century, and then distilled each of these to find the best with which to make their recipes. The time they spent was certainly worth it for this truly original gin.
If you sample either of these please do let us know what you think! And for any advice on choosing the perfect gin for you and to see our complete catalogue, please do get in touch by emailing us at info@jckenny.ie.