Spring Meadow Gin, Winchester Distillery 40%

Description

The next batch will be available in Spring 2018.

Spring Meadow Gin is a small batch, micro-distilled gin made in Hampshire at the Winchester Distillery. The Winchester Distillery is probably most famous for producing Twisted Nose Watercress Gin which was their first release in May 2013. Spring Meadow Gin is a limited edition gin which owner and distiller Paul Bowler only makes once an year. He also makes a richer limited edition gin for the winter months called Winter Wassail Gin.

All of the gins at Winchester Distillery are distilled in a traditional copper pot still, a descendent of the alembic still, used to make batches of spirits, unlike the continuous distillation of large, more commercial column stills. Pot stills produce a very fine grade of spirit. The botanicals are gently crushed, mixed and macerated pure, neutral spirit to release the oils that give the gin its characteristic flavours. The spirit and macerated botanicals are then re-distilled in the pot still and only the heart of the distillate is used for the final bottling.

Spring Meadow Gin is designed to evoke aromas of blossom and the arrival of spring. It is a dry gin made with botanicals including juniper, elderflower, cherry blossom, chamomile and orange blossom from Hilliers Arboretum (the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens) near Romsey. It is described as “spring in a bottle”.

Notes on the 2018 batch from Winchester distillery: “Made with fresh hand-picked cherry blossom from Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Romsey, Mrs. B’s Borage Honey and other locally sourced botanicals such as elderflower and lavender, it is a bright, floral gin that works well with tonic over plenty of ice to toast the arrival of longer sunnier days.”