Whilst most of Johnny Neill’s inspiration for his award-winning gins comes from his ancestor’s intrepid exploits abroad, this Rhubarb & Ginger gin harks from fond memories made slightly closer to home. We've never met an English person who doesn't have fond memories of rhubarb in some from as a kid, and like Johnny, it is often at the farm.
Grain spirit is combined with gin and rhubarb to make this gin, and those ingredients join a line up of determinable flavours like cassia, juniper, orange and liquorice. What it lacks in rhubarb punch it makes up for with ginger, to the point it might be misconstrued as a gin liqueur. On further waiting from opening, the gin kind of opens up and the aroma is absolutely rhubarb with the ever present ginger.
It is sweet. Rhubarb on its own is quite tart, there has been the addition of sugar to balance it. Too much? Maybe, but it is tempered with the mid notes of orange, liquorice and the ubiquitous juniper, matching the alcoholic warmth at the finish. Like other flavoured gins, this needs to sit in its own category rather than being a replacement for your house pour (our house pour is quite robust), so don't expect to add a splash of tonic and hop into it.
This is a gin which demands soda or even something bitter to counter the sweetness. Tonic will make it far too sweet. It could well be a great entry to gin for the non gin drinker, who are looking to get amongst the gin revolution without wanting to tackle some of the bigger dryer and over proofed gins as a starter.
To be fair, we love this with something a little spicy and salty as it helps to balance the sweetness. But we love it, we are unashamed in our love for it. It's a little tart, crisp and sweet all at once and in its place, leads a pack of infused gins from the UK, happily sitting on our shelf.
RRP $60 (700ml) at major liquor stores
UK | 43% ABV