This Christmas you can go local with not just turkey, spuds and sprouts, you can also ensure your Christmas tipple is locally brewed as well. We have a fantastic range of local gin and Christmas Spirits from £5.65, with Gin leading the way, but backed up with local vodka, rye and rum. We have some fantastic Englsih wines and sparkling, and our beer selection heavily favours the locals. Chalice Mead made with local honey makes sure that your Christmas drinks will be truly special this year.
We start with Chilgrove Dry Gin
Handcrafted using traditional methods and distilled with natural mineral water filtered through the very chalk Downs which surround Chilgrove; this fine London Dry Gin marries the finest Sussex-grown botanicals together with a neutral spirit distilled from grapes. It is this unusual relationship which gives Chilgrove Gin its sophisticated character, whilst the perfectly balanced elect of flavours, truly make it the gin for all seasons.
Bottled at a super-premium 46% abv, Chilgrove Bluewater Edition is a London Dry Gin crafted using a total of fourteen botanicals including indigenous Australian and English botanicals. These are distilled with a 100% grape-alcohol base and natural mineral water sourced from the South Downs which surround the hamlet of Chilgrove in West Sussex.
Then we move into Hampshire with Winchester Distillery’s
This small batch craft local gin combines ten botanicals including our locally grown watercress to create a spirit that is intense, fragrant and very refreshing. The watercress adds sweet herbaceous notes and a peppery sparkle to the finish that lifts a gin and tonic to new heights.
This brand new gin, launched on world gin day 2017 at the great hall in Winchester, is a tribute to the distillery’s home city and inspired by King Arthur’s round table hanging in the hall. It uses 25 medieval botanicals commonly used in food and medicine in the period; one for each Knight seated at the table with King Arthur himself on the throne at the head of the table represented by Juniper.
Rich and complex, this is a unique gin with great depth of flavour and subtle herbal nuances from the wide list of (secret) medieval botanicals. For a deliciously rich G&T try mixing with Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic and garnish with sprigs of Rosemary & Thyme and wheel of lemon.
Moving into the New Forest we have 3 local gins from Dancing Cows
Lymington Gin won the Hampshire Life Drinks Product of the Year 2016.
This is a great G&T and Martini gin distilled with nine botanicals, including local angelica seeds foraged from the hedgerows of Lymington, and blueberries grown at Beaulieu. We cut the final spirit to 43% with natural spring water from the New Forest. The result is a gin smooth enough to sip by itself but robust enough to live with tonic. The angelica seeds make it particularly fine in a classic Martin.
For something a little different, try our delicately oak-aged gin. After distillation, we cut the gin to 43% and then age it in stainless steel casks on a combination of sherry cask and American oak wood chunks. The process is carefully monitored because we don’t want too much oak flavour – just a delicate layer on top of the botanicals. The result is a truly different gin – vanilla, sherry and oak flavours on top of fruity botanical notes. We like it with pomegranate seeds and fresh basil leaves in a G&T and it also makes a grand Negroni.
A winter warmer – sharper than sloe gin allowing the dark fruit flavours through as a complement to the gin botanicals. This is great in a hip flask on a cold Sunday morning walk by the sea…or try it as a ‘Damson Royale’ with Prosecco….
A golden rum with warm caramel notes and hints of fragrant spices. We use a relatively high proportion of molasses to cane sugar and then sit the spirit at 55% ABV on bourbon chunks in steel casks after using our unique aging system of ultrasound, heat and forced aeration.
This is a grain liquor brewed, fermented, distilled and aged in a unique process that sidesteps whisky to create a fresh new spirit. We use a mash of 52% rye malt with maize and barley malt from a farm just a mile away at Keyhaven. The result is a smooth liquor with fresh fruity grain aroma, and hints of caramel.
Finally we move away from the locals to the beautiful Pinkster Gin that gets it’s colour from the raspberries of Cambridge…
Pinkster Gin is deliciously dry, with a hint of fruit and an exceptionally smooth finish. As you taste, there’s raspberry on the nose with the juniper coming through and then a slight spice that develops and lingers. We make a highly agreeable G&T, especially when served with decent tonic, a raspberry and a sprig of fresh mint. Be sure to spank the mint first by clapping in your hand, to release the minty aromas that complement the raspberry so well.
Pinkster also make amazing Gin Jam and Boozy Berries – perfect for stockings, or for breakfast on toast!