Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
James May, legendary of Top Gear and The Grand Tour, has launched a new brand of gin. It’s not really surprising that it’s called James Gin is it? We have been sent a cute gift set of James Gin samples (Asian Parsnip, London Drizzle and California Dreamgin’) to try out. Yes, you read that correctly, one of them is made with Asian Parsnip! We also received James’ new book on gin cocktails called James Gin Big Book of Cocktails, which somewhat less surprisingly, is actually a diminutive book but does contain a lot of gin cocktail recipes!
James makes the gin himself in what he describes as an ‘alarmingly cold’ shed in Wiltshire. He doesn’t make it all on his own, but has the help of expert gin maker Hugh Anderson of Downton Distillery. The idea of Asian Parsnip was all down to James though. He wanted to make a parsnip gin that reminded him of Blighty (damp, root vegetable) but presumably it was so damp and root vegetable-like that he needed to spice it up with some Asian spices. The Asian Parsnip gin has a slightly unusual taste with the spices coming through later to offset the root vegetable tone. It’s perfectly drinkable though, and works well with tonic water which is how I consumed it.
James Gin London Drizzle is a lighter taste, and I’m told it’s made from beetroot, orange, bay and ginger to make a slightly more fruity gin. It’s slight drier than I like though, but again works well with tonic water and gives you an idea of the flavour in order to buy a bigger bottle. The James Gin California Dreamgin’ (yes the ‘g’ is in the wrong place to give it the unusual name) is made of mushrooms. James says that it’s made of girolle mushrooms for those who recognise that meat is murder but if you’re just in it for the gin, then this umami gin is for you. The mushroom gin is flavoured with oregano, coriander and lemon peel with some added spices to give a unique flavour. This gin on its own, in small doses, is actually quite refreshing but you obviously can’t drink a lot of it at 40% alcohol so adding a flavoured tonic would be advisable.
My favourite? The California Dreamgin’ because of the unusual taste, and the fact that I can tell people that they’re drinking a gin made of mushroom! All in all, a useful and very enjoyable gift set.
The James Gin Gift Set: £18.99 https://www.jamesgin.com/products/new-gift-set
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