Gin, in most of its forms, is delicious and my summer go to-drink aside from Pimm's. So in an attempt to pretend that it is still warm, I joined a gin club! The promise of hard-to-find gins and tonics was too hard to ignore. First up, X-Gin, a really novel gin that is a long way from the traditional London Dry. It attempts to recreate the smell and taste of Mayan Chocolate, with strong cocoa and vanilla flavours coming through the standard base of juniper and spices.
I
thought it was pretty good, with a nice balance reached between the old
world bitter juniper and the new world chocolatey smoothness. Probably
wouldn't get a bottle of it, but definitely one to keep an eye out for
in pubs.
The gin came with Fever Tree Tonic and
a small bag of cocoa nibs. I was a bit disappointed to get Fever Tree,
which is available everywhere, but I guess they needed to pair the gin
with a neutral tonic to keep the gin as the foremost flavour. The nibs
was a very nice addition, as they would be hard to find and are
suggested as the garnish on all the suggested recipes! Other garnishes
that worked well were lime and black pepper, making it feel like you are
drinking a gourmet chocolate bar. All up, a really good start to the gin club with a well-thought through box. Hoping for more of the same next time!
