This week’s gin comes from Marlborough, of course more famously known as the Wine Capital of New Zealand, but also producing a top notch gin!
A crisp-robust ‘London Dry’ style gin bottled at a 45% ABV to deliver maximum flavour. After setting out to produce the best gin they possibly could, Elemental Distillers took a look at what made some of the world’s most iconic gins so popular. Noticing that the most forward and balanced gins, utilised less than ten botanicals in their recipe.
With this is in mind and after a lengthy process of R&D, they arrived at Roots Marlborough Dry Gin. A bold juniper forward gin with only six core botanicals. Of these, only the juniper is sourced from overseas, the remainder are all grown in New Zealand and acquired direct from either wild, organic, native or family-owned farms and co-operatives.
The other 5 botanicals include: Grapefruit ‘Golden Special’ (Gisborne, NZ), Coriander Seed (Hawke's Bay, NZ), Organic Motueka Hops, (Nelson, NZ), Wild Foraged Gorse Flower, (Marlborough, NZ) and Wild Foraged Kawakawa Berries, (Kāpiti Coast, NZ).
Each batch of Roots Marlborough Dry Gin is distilled in a single pot run within a 200 litre copper still named Fanni. Not to mention the distillery is constructed from three up-cycled shipping containers.
When mixed, this gin does have a natural clouding effect (louche). It is a sign of a high level of aromatic oils. It is easily avoided by distilling lighter styles of gin or using filtration systems that may be flavour altering. They prefer to deliver a gin that does not get bullied by a mixer, and retains all of the distilled flavours extracted.
Best enjoyed in a G&T with Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic water with a slice if Grapefruit.
