Beckett's gin trio and miniatures
As a gin collector, I can appreciate a good looking bottle. Something that stands out amongst the crowd has often been reason enough for making a purchase without even sampling what's inside. Another thing I love as a collector is a full set so when the opportunity arose to sample all three gins from Kingston Distillery, I could not pass it up.
Beckett's Gin 1097 was launched by Neil Beckett in 2014 after establishing the Kingston Distillery in 2013. It features 6 botanicals including mint grown in Kingston-Upon-Thames and juniper handpicked on Box Hill in Surrey with permission from the National Trust and Natural England. As such, Beckett's Gin promotes itself as the only gin in the world to be infused with juniper berries from England. Beckett's Gin is reciprocating by developing a conservation project with the Forestry Commission to create a sustainable population of juniper in Surrey. The botanicals : Juniper, mint, lime, coriander seeds, orris root, sweet orange peel. On the nose, the gin is warming and aromatic with citrus and mint unsurprisingly predominant. To taste, this gin is incredibly refreshing with juniper, citrus and mint all standing out but balancing so well together. The finish is smooth with more cool mint and subtle pine notes. When you create such a fabulously refreshing gin, what do you do next? You use it to create more wonderful expressions such as an annual sloe gin. Made by steeping sloes picked on Box Hill. Although more of a wintry gin, it's still enjoyable to sip on, especially if you have yourself a garden chiminea on a cool evening. The gin has delicious plum and cherry notes and is superb sipped neat or as I preferred, mixed with Fevertree Lemon tonic. Finally we have the 'Spirited' expression. Beckett's has turned things up a notch with their London dry gin, resulting in this Spirited expression! It follows a similar recipe to their Type 1097 but everything is ramped up a notch. This gin has more of a full-bodied citrus sweetness, with balancing herbaceous bitterness from the juniper, coriander and orris. Although once again this gin works great in a gin and tonic. It's calling out to mixed up in an array of different cocktails. There is an online directory to help with that. Not only are these gins all great tasting, they are equally great looking. First of all, the spirits sit in beautiful, thick glasses squared bottles. The labels stand out with their white labels and bright colour decoration with foil lettering. They sit together beautifully on the shelf and really stand out. The miniatures come in a fabulous magnetic sealed gift box. Again, superbly decorated with foil writing. The bottles are incredibly cute - again in cubed bottles and match the label decoration of the larger bottles. Beckett's have an incredible range of gins on their hands and there is definitely something for everyone. For the traditional gin and tonic drinker, the original dry gin will add a unique twist to their classic serve with the use of refreshing mint leaves. For those who like a cocktail, the spirited gin will be a great addition to the mixologists shelf as a great all rounder. I've thoroughly enjoyed sampling this range and hope you find them as enjoyable as I have.
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