Whitley Neill is famous for their exotic London Dry whose botanicals hail from Africa, bringing a fragrant twist to the classic.
Whitley Neill Rhubarb and Ginger Gin brings the entire collection closer to home, creating a whole new whirlwind of Summery flavour.
Distilled in Birmingham,Whitley Neill Gin is the brainchild of Johnny Neill which should be reassuring to any discerning Gin lover, as his heritage of distilling is one handed down through many generations.
The journey to this Gin was inspired by the beautiful English Summer and in particular,gardens bursting with flowers and fresh life throughout the Spring and Summer. Neill’s aim was to capture all this in a single bottle of Gin.
To do this he turned to the fabulous and full flavours of Rhubarb and Ginger.
The bottle itself is certainly a keeper, full of a vibrant purple hue and some lovely white stenciling, it certainly stands out in a busy market.
The spice and scope of the Ginger brings its own uniqueness, but when balanced against the tart sour rhubarb creates an excellent Gin full of vibrancy and flavour.
The main botanicals of this Gin are Macedonian juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root, cassia bark, cape gooseberry, baobab fruit, lemon peel, orange peel, Florentine iris and of course healthy doses of English ginger and rhubarb.
The nose brings a wash of spice to begin with, with the ginger making a dominant stand. The rhubarb follows shortly after, merging beautifully with the ginger.
It is aromatic and flavoursome, bringing in the lovely tartness of hte rhubarb against the spice of the ginger.
On the palate, this Gin continues the theme with dominant flavours of ginger and rhubarb throughout, but the orange peel makes a play here as well. The citrus blends perfectly into the tartness and spice to make for a unique flavour.
It adds a brilliant bite to the flavour and really bounces off the tang of the rhubarb, creating more depth and complexity.
The finish is surprisingly sweet and long. A final push of citrus brings this unique Gin to a hearty conclusion.
If you are looking for a Gin with solid roots, a good heritage and some marvellous English flavours, you don’t need to look any further.
