I admit, I’m a newbie to Newton. Mostly in my head it’s associated withe horse racing, and the domestic offices of an insurance company I used to work for.
But now I’m far more likely to associate it with gin, after friends opened Riddling Rack. Along with a great selection of G&Ts, wines and beers (as I’d expect from these two), they also host regular events. And most recently it involved a visit from The Gin Kitchen.
The Gin Kitchen is the home of Kate and Helen, in Dorking, Surrey. Along with distilling in the 170 year old barn the distillery calls home, they also host tours, tastings and parties. Their gin naming parties sound like a lot of fun – what better way to come up with a name than with friends and the gin itself?
Everything is small batch. Each batch takes five days from start to finish, and they only produce around 60 bottles per day. The botanicals are macerated, before being poured into the still for distillation using the one shot method. As their stills (Dinky and Daisy) are alembic pot stills, they are sealed in a traditional way using flour and water. The gins come off the still at around 80% and are diluted to 48% before being rested and bottled.
The Gin Kitchen, and this tasting, began with their original gin, Dancing Dragontail. A light summery gin. It’s laden with green cardamom and pink grapefruit, plus the sweetness and mouthfeel associate with it’s copper pot still distillation. It also, as you can just make out from the picture here, is unfiltered, meaning you get all the natural oils, and that gentle cloudiness that occurs when tonic is added.
We also sampled the second of their releases, the Gutsy Monkey Winter Gin.
Taking inspiration from a spice rub, this gin is much heavier and spicier than the summery Dragontail. The botcanicals include juniper, fresh lime zest, fresh ginger and fresh thyme, alongside allspice, coriander seed, black pepper and cumin. The result is a real winter warmer, perfect for the festive season.
Onto something a delicate shade of pink. Blushing Monkey Pink Gin hit the shelves of Fortnum & Mason at the end of last year. The Gin Kitchen took their Gutsy Monkey Gin and they added black grapes. The result is a spicy, but gently floral gin, that’s still punchy enough to keep classic gin lovers happy, and just delicately pink enough for those who like something pretty in their glass.
Finally on the gin front we moved onto something new, and probably my favourite spirit. Ginger Cat Gin. Yes, I’m a sucker for ginger, and for cats, so I may be a little biased, but actually the flavour profile is very much my er, G&T. This recipe was one created by their Head Distiller Reeba (who also created a cocktail for it too). Along with juniper, there’s the soft vanilla from tonka bean, spice from cinnamon, a little orange zest and of course, ginger. Anyone who knows me, knows that this particular gin was always going to be my favourite.
Finally, The Gin Kitchen had one more trick up their sleeve, an absinthe, Eternal. There’s been much research done to remove the myths from absinthe. No, wormwood doesn’t deserve it’s reputation (you can read my article for Bitten Magazine for it here), and so, finally, we have a number of excellent absinthes on the market.
Eternal is a little different in that after distillation, it’s macerated in rose petals – a variation from a Parisian distillery from the early 20th century. The result is pretty pink in colour, and along with the rich anise, and round flavour profiles, offers something just a little different with it’s floral finish. And it’s rather moreish despite it’s 69% abv profile.
Overall, if you’re looking for something really small batch, that’s just a little bit different, I think you’ll love The Gin Kitchen.
