The Secret Garden Gin Club
I'm no stranger to a gin subscription service, I've tried a few and they all have their merits so when this one from Secret Garden Gin Distillery popped up I was keen to try it. My gin preference is traditionally in London Dry Gins however my profile preference is coastal and herbaceous so the lure of promised natural flavours from herbs and flowers and colouring from petals appealed to my inner fairy!
A distillery and completely natural herb nursery moving with the season sounds like a dream. The box arrived wrapped in shipping materials that are FSCS approved and recyclable. Inside the labels on the bottles are all 30% grass and they don't need bubble wrap as they sit in their own cardboard cut out the section of the box. This felt like a gift. Beautifully presented, the sleeve is illustrated with the botanicals of the specific seasonal gin. So what do you get for your £25 other than the joy of opening a gift? An exclusive and limited edition 20cl seasonal gin, a 5cl sample gin, a 150ml can of tonic and dried garnish plus access to the Secret Garden Hive, an exclusive Facebook Group to share content with other subscribers and watch videos that talk you through the gin. As I don't use Facebook I can't comment on this aspect. In my opinion, this is value for money and an affordable subscription at a competitive market rate. On the off chance you don't enjoy the gin you don't have a full bottle and haven't splashed out nearly double that amount of cash to find out. So obviously the content varies but in my February Winter Gin box, the featured gin was Lavender &Thyme, using what the local bees could share from the 'Hidcote' lavender and garden thyme plus regular gin distilling suspects and Winter Savory. Assessing neat, on the nose is overall a floral tone with prominent juniper and lavender. I also detected an aroma of mint. On the palette, the lavender is still prominent followed by liquorice and angelica root with juniper and thyme in the finish. The mouthfeel is saved from being crisp by the 39% ABV that tips it into smooth. As a G&T this is herbal and floral with the magic of a blue gin that turns pink even you add the tonic! The 5cl Sample Room gin was a big bonus for me! I enjoyed the "blind" tasting aspect of this. My sample was labelled as 4. On the nose, I detected citrus, particularly lemon, and juniper. This gin had a green hue to it and on the palette, it was distinctively herbal with a slightly bitter finish and mild warm earthy spice, almost like sweet cabbage. As a G&T it was sweeter. With no guidance or botanical notes, and working purely from my neat tasting, I garnished with ginger slices and a lemon wedge. Great G&T that was reminiscent of lemon sherbet. Overall I would be keen to subscribe and delighted to receive this box monthly although it is available bi-monthly and you can skip, pause and cancel. The Sample Room Gin was great. In my opinion that is what added to my excitement and gives this subscription something that others don't have. As well as the fun guessing it also gave me a chance to taste another of their gins and get a better idea of the range of high-quality gin that this distillery has to offer.
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