This rather unique London Dry Gin is an exciting blend of history, imagination, innovation and character, which all comes together in one superb bottle. This Gin is a Anglo-Belgian creation between Thierry Ponet and Matthieu Chaumont.
The story starts around half a millenia ago when John Ponet, the Bishop of Winchester, was fighting for religious freedom, societal reform and defying convention, a general all round maverick with a passion for life. Fast forward to the modern day and Thierry Ponet and Matthieu Chaumont are putting the best of both eras into Bishop’s Gin.
Ponet and Chaumont took their inspiration to Thames Distillers to make Bishop’s Gin a reality. The master distiller at work was Charles Maxwell, who took the dream and turned it into a superb quality Gin.
It is innovative, a little daring and full of out of the box thinking and Bishop’s Gin does not hide its challenge for drinkers. A challenge to defy convention and embrace imagination.
Bishop’s Gin is made to the London Dry specification with the botanicals pulped up together and then distilled.
The most surprising and enticing thing about Bishop’s Gin is there use of Nasturtium (also known as Tropaeolum), which is known for its vibrantly exotic blooms. It brings a strong floral, water cressy tone to this Gin with both sweet and bitter notes.
Nasturtium is one of eight botanicals, the others are: juniper, lemongrass, angelica, iris, almond, liquorice and lemon. These come together with a beautiful vibrancy which really sets this London Dry apart from its competitors.
Overall this Gin is dominated with floral tones, but there are clear undertones from the other botanicals throughout.
The nose of Bishop’s Gin brings a perfumed brilliance that hides the other flavours that arrive in the palate.
It is floral and rich, with lots of natural, plant based notes coming through. There are lots of herbs but without the usual herba dullness. Each is fully realised and delicious.
The palate of this Gin, perhaps surprisingly, begins with sweet liquorice, followed by the tangy combination of the lemongrass and citrus, with a sweet mix of floral notes.
However it is the Juniper which dominates here bringing that classic Gin flavour to the fore. The flavours are well developed and there is plenty to unpack here.
The floral and herbal notes of the nose make themselves well known and add a brilliant freshness overall.
The finish is sweet and lingering, giving one last taste of that nasturtium.
Every Gin is different, but this particular blend is a perfumed monument to uniqueness and innovation and certainly worth a try for any Gin lover.
