Not What I’d Have Expected
After spending 9 months without so much as a sniff of my favourite liquid (alcohol), I’ve began wondering what my first post pregnancy drink will be…
For a Sommelier who loves nothing more than chatting for hours about wine, I’ve been quite surprised to find that the drink I’m most looking forward to isn’t actually a wine.
Perhaps its down to my constant ordering of tonic with ice and lemon as a refreshing summer drink, but all that I’m wanting right now is a good old gin and tonic!
Gins That I’ll Be Trying This Year
While I haven’t been drinking any gin for a while, there have been a few that have caught my eye over the course of the year that I’m eager to try.
Here are the gins that I’ll be hastily buying once I’m ready to drink again:
This is a rose (pink) gin from Salcombe distillery, located in in the picturesque fishing village of Salcombe in Devon. The botanicals are of course juniper mostly, with strawberries and angelica adding a soft sweetness and fresh citrus peels, pink peppercorns, orange blossom and lemon verbena adding the elegance.
Ever since our head mixologist at Le Manoir returned from visiting this distillery, I have been looking forward to having a taste for myself and understanding what all of the fuss is about. In his words, “this is a pink gin without the sickly sweet quality” and is produced completely naturally and on a smaller, artisanal scale, and I can’t wait to try it!
Chapel Down are best known for their impressive bubbly that closely rivals Champagne and featured famously at the Royal wedding between William and Katherine, nevertheless, their gin is supposed to be of excellent quality.
The distillery uses the leftover grape skins from the Bacchus variety to ferment and distil into a fresh gin with aromas of elderflower, lavender and lemon notes that are meant to reflect the delicate character of the grape. If the quality of this gin is anything like that of their sparkling wine then I know I’ll have a new favourite pretty soon!
3 – Adnams Orange & Sea Buckthorn Gin
Adnams is another distillery that are not best known for their gin since their beers are usually at centre stage. I remember once visiting this brewery/distillery with my university and falling in love with the company and the town of Southwold where it’s located.
This gin was originally released as a limited edition for the summer season, although has entered their spirits range as a permanent fixture after proving to be so popular. The predominant notes are orange, pineapple, peaches and other tropical fruit notes thanks to the addition of sea buckthorn that grows natively around the east coast of Britain.
In Good Spirits
Another guilty pleasure of mine that I would indulge in from time to time is dark rum and ginger beer with a wedge of lime. I know what you’re thinking, it’s practically a Dark N’ Stormy cocktail but I guess without all of that mushing and usually half the price! This will probably be my third go-to beverage since wine is still well up there for me and I can’t wait to get back into swirling, sniffing, AND SWALLOWING!
So as you might have noticed, I’ve been thinking about my first drink for a while now, although that isn’t to say that I haven’t grown a new appreciation for going out and staying completely sober. I always used to think that I needed to have more than one drink and begin feeling the effects of the alcohol to become completely immersed in an experience, either with friends, family, or occasionally even alone. Now though, I’ve realised that although the drink itself does help to enhance a dining or social experience (oh how I’ve missed a glass of red with my steak) , it really is just a tiny part of the bigger picture.
Head in a Glass 