If you’re doing Dry-January, it’s probably best to read this on February 1st.
For January, our bottle of the month is from a small distillery just in our backyard. The Gin Kitchen Distillery are based out in the Surrey Hills and are the producers of some fantastic gins and absinthe… if you’re feeling brave.
The operation is entirely female run and is set in the beautiful rolling hills of a local farm. We’ve come into contact with lots of gin brands but The Gin Kitchen's newest creation is particularly exciting! Ginger Cat Gin has been keeping us warm and merry through the cold depths of January. Here’s how we’ve been enjoying it:
Firstly, the bottle and packaging is gorgeous. The illustrations have been produced by a local tattoo artist (whether this is through a serendipitous encounter or painstaking searching we don’t know) but The Gin Kitchen is local through and through and we love it. In our opinion, a porcelain bottle is 100% worth the sacrifice of not knowing how much gin you’ve got left which frankly often brings unwanted anxiety and stress.
The gin itself is very smooth with familiar notes of juniper, but then you get a lovely warmth coming through from the ginger and cinnamon which is balanced by aromatic orange zest. This gin is infused with Tonka beans which brings through notes of vanilla and almond. What we look forward to at the end of each sip is that hint of buttery gingerbread moving towards the back of the pallet.
This gin is fabulous with any premium tonic as it really lets the flavours speak for themselves. If you fancy something a bit more fruity we’ve been enjoying Ginger Cat as a Ginger Pineapple variation of a Tom Collins, which we’ve aptly named a Pineapple Tabby.
For us the sweetness of the pineapple goes amazingly with the warmth of the gin. By using pineapple syrup instead of pineapple juice you manage to preserve a lot of the botanicals which is a nice touch. Here’s the recipe we used:
- 50ml of Ginger Cat Gin
- 25ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 12.5ml of pineapple syrup – we use Monin
- Crushed ice
- Soda water
- Thin slice of fresh ginger for garnish
Half fill a high ball with crushed ice, add the Ginger Cat Gin, lemon juice and pineapple syrup and stir until well mixed. Top up with more ice almost to the rim, then with soda. Garnish with a nice slice of fresh ginger straight into the glass and enjoy with a straw.
Thanks for taking the time to read, hopefully we've given you some new ideas. If you're interested in getting your hands of a bottle then please visit The Gin Kitchen website. They also offer some fantastic gin experiences and distillery tours, plus given the location it's an amazing pit-stop on a country ramble for a cheeky G&T with the girls. Please let us know what you think about the gin or recipe in the comments below.
Here's a final photo of their beautiful pink gin, Blushing Monkey, which transitions to a subtle rose pink once mixed with tonic.
Photos by Inverno Dreaming and Will Burchill Photography
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