Not just that it’s the from the first gin distillery in Dorset (it is). Now back to your regularly scheduled review. Nicely balanced overall with a lovely green profile that suggests verdant fields and dark forests, while still highlighting a lot of traditional gin character through juniper, coriander and citrus primarily. Forest floor with deep red jammy fruit is hard not to love and this gin teases you in to sniffing far too aggressively. Conker Dorset Dry Gin The name conjures up images of crisp autumn walks in the English countryside, and indeed this Dorset gin is produced with local ingredients top of the list. Lime zest and bitter orange, the finish is long with lime and cucumber notes, with a halo of coriander spice. The Gin Man reviews Conker gin. Once maturation reaches its optimum moment, with the liquid taking on a fiery, caramel hue, it’s disgorged and diluted to bottling strength with water. Still, that doesn’t mean things have to remain static. Innovative spirits, handcrafted in Dorset's first gin distillery. Dorset Dry Gin was also featured in my book Gin: The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival, which makes a great Christmas gift. Rather than money, Holloway was rich with the opportunity that comes from having no responsibilities – no children, no mortgage. A refreshing take on a classic London Dry – well-balanced and Juniper-led, but with the bright and refreshing Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked gorse flowers. It’s a smooth gin with a taste that lingers – fresh at the fore, though sweet throughout. Prior to starting the distillery he worked as a chartered surveyor, a job in which days stretched on for weeks and weeks into years. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. And outward. Initially, all of the ingredients were added, along with the base spirit and New Forest spring water, to Conker Spirits’ two 30-litre alembic copper pot stills – Aunt Fanny and Pumpkin – and left to rest for 12 hours. Adding to the usual gin botanicals, elderberry, marsh samphire and hand-picked gorse flowers give this craft gin its unique character. And we definitely want an Old Tom – how well would those elderberries work in an Old Tom? Sit back and enjoy the view whilst sampling two unique Conker Gin … Botanicals include … This has turned out a blessing, in our opinion; a quick glance at the scene five years on shows a couple of competitors – Pothecary, Lilliput – but if someone were to task us to name a Dorset Gin right off the bat, this is still the first we’d think of. As a team of friends they share a passion for creating top-class gin that embraces the botanicals that can be found growing (often foraged by the team) across Dorset's picturesque countryside. It’s a great emblem of the British countryside and while to a casual observer it looks like there’s been little evolution since the start – same bottle, same flavour, same brand identity – that’s only because it launched from such a strong place. Dorset Dry Gin Distilled in Bournemouth from British wheat spirit and New Forest Spring Water, the Dorset Dry is our refreshing take on a classic London Dry; 10 botanicals well-balanced and Juniper-led, with the bright and refreshing Dorset … Curio Gin. I suppose that’s more of a snooty sommeliers’ with a dash of savvy marketeer tasting note, if it even is one, but I trust you don’t mind pardoning this meta moment. For more information about Conker, visit their website: www.conkerspirit.co.uk. On first sip, … Sign up below to get the latest news, offers and events from Gin Foundry. A quick glance at Conker Spirit distillery owner Rupert Holloway gives you the impression that he’s the kid whose conker would win. The focus was only on quality. A slight twist on a classic London Dry profile, Conker Dry Gin is well-balanced and Juniper-led, but with the bright and refreshing Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked gorse flowers adding … Conker is one of England's up-and-coming gin distillers. Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin Holloway aimed to create a well-balanced gin, with no botanical much more dominant than any other. Conker Spirit was started with no money –  “No savings. Conker’s new Navy Strength Gin Review TheLussorian 03/04/2019 Luxury Drinks, Tried and Tested True to the term ‘Navy Strength’, award winning, Dorset based Conker Spirit have launched their new gin, … So a little bit of new, a little bit of local, all distilled on a base of British wheat spirit with Macedonian sourced juniper. The distillery’s flagship offering was reduced to around 45%ABV before being added to former Port barrels (8 at a time) and left to rest for 8 weeks. Demand has called for a bigger rig, though, so production has been upgraded to bigger distilling units, although the method has remained largely unchanged. Conker Spirit Dorset dry gin, 40%, 70cl. I now get to call myself ‘Head Conkerer’ as well.”. Summery and sweet meadow-like aromas underpin the experience, with citrus and a soft, floral sweetness holding the juniper in place. It really is a beautifully captivating gin, with a rose gold hue to the colour of the liquid. Conniption American Gin. Corner Fifty Three. The nose is initially a bit foresty and green, with dark boreal pine and resiny juniper notes. Not just content with just making a higher proof offering,  Conker Navy Gin is also built with a charitable soul embedded into each bottle. Be the first to review the Drinks by the Dram Single Cracker - Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin The palate is vivid as well; however, a bit more traditional at points. Definitely go 2:1:1 with the gin if you’re using Dorset Dry in that drink. Founded by Rupert Holloway in April 2014, Conker are Dorset's first gin distillery. Clearly, it’s a well suited cask for the gin, as the two play off each other sympathetically enough for it to be recognisably Conker Gin, but with enough character to be a new experience in its own right and worthy of discovery. Vegetal notes emerge a bit lower, with cucumber, celery and minty notes. Cotswolds Dry Gin. latest report on Consumer Taste Preferences in Gin. That is to the lands around Dorset where the sea vegetable Samphire and Ulex flowers (an evergreen shrub distantly related to peas) grow wild. It just never needed to grow up. Continuing…. Cruxland Gin. The labels are hand signed by Holloway, and the colours, though bright, are not jarring. A gin that can be enjoyed neat or in the classic way with tonic. An encyclopaedic and expert series of Gin reviews. The oak is clear, but it’s not tannic, rather it imposes a fruity and subtle wood note, much tamer than the flavours you’d typically get from the likes of American oak, with more of the previous occupant noticeable here than the ageing process or the charred wood. Cuckoo Gin. Quite lovely. The Dorset Dry is a fresh approach to gin, balancing 10 botanicals the Dorset … Conker Spirit was very much a one-man band operation for the first year and a half, with Holloway himself distilling, bottling and labelling his gins, as well as foraging for local ingredients. While it’s a fairly traditional flavour sipped neat, classicism goes out of the window once tonic is introduced. Check your inbox and confirm the link to complete the process. The Stills are heated until all of the alcohol evaporates away from the botanicals, taking their essential oils and flavour with it. Conker Dorset Dry Gin is a refreshing and smooth gin that's full of delicious notes of juniper, warm spice and floral allure. Holloway sent his girlfriend Emily a message to say that he’d decided to create a gin and she replied, quite accidentally, with the word ‘conker.’ He realised it was the perfect name: “nostalgic, very British and a word everyone knows but rarely uses. Conker Dorset Dry Gin – 40%ABV. It can be ... Stores and prices for 'Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin… But while others look backwards digging up ancestral and heritage recipes that give it the weight of time, Conker Spirits looks forward. Free from the constraints of tradition, we’re in pursuit of the new and exciting, with a ruthless focus on quality. Spirits distilled from British wheat and New Forest Spring Water.That's the Spirit® The Dorset Dry® is a fresh approach to London Dry gin, balancing ten select botanicals with the Dorset notes … Conker Spirit's Dorset Dry Gin is distilled using British wheat spirit, New Forest spring water and 10 botanicals, including some rather distinctively-Dorset-inspired botanicals - Gorse Flowers, Samphire … Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin, 70 cl at Amazon.com. When he hit 29, he had what he calls “an early midlife crisis,” and decided to get out of there, deciding, quite suddenly, that he’d be “bitterly disappointed if I retire or die doing what I currently do for a living.”. Well-deserved awards and accolades for Conker Spirit’s Dorset Dry Gin include a gold medal in the wines, spirits and liqueurs category in the 2015 Taste of the West Awards, two stars in the 2015 Great Taste Awards and gold in the best drinks product of the year category at the Dorset … Seek this one out. Overall: A wonderful take on dry gin that would shine with a helping of elderflower tonic. Dilution brings the jammy elderberries stampeding to the fore, with the fruits somersaulting across the tongue like a troupe of marionettes. Juniper, coriander, angelica, orris, cassia and Seville orange suggest a line up similar to any London classic, but this is livened up with lime peel which, says Holloway, “add a really nice, crisp, almost dry sweetness that balances out the very caramelised orange of the Seville orange.” The botanicals get a Dorset twist from dried samphire, elderberries and hand harvested New Forest gorse flowers, which are picked and dried in March and April to be used throughout the year. Everything a Gentleman needs to know about Gin Brands – Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin Review. Dorset’s Dry Gin. Dorset Dry Gin Hand crafted in Dorset by Conker Spirit. £5 from every sale goes to the RNLI in a partnership that will last (and hopefully be extended thereafter) three years. Many producers are snobby about the multi-shot process, but we can’t say we ever noticed a change in quality between then and now…. The bottle itself is short and stout and really stands out on shelves. ... Aaron Knoll has run The Gin Is In, a Gin review … Not everyone’s heard of it, but those that know it love it. Conker Spirit was founded in 2014 by Rupert Holloway, who traded in a career as a chartered surveyor to learn about and pursue creating a new gin; the Dorset Dry. Where Men Can Become Better Gentlemen Review Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin Distillery. Smith also helped Holloway develop his palate for picking out individual botanicals, an area that too few forget to do. In the British countryside, school children are known to thread string through these seeds in autumn when they drop from the trees and engage in vicious battles, wherein they smash each others prized floor-treasure to pieces. Corinthian Gin. It’s made just up the road from where I was born, it’s the first/only gin distillery in Dorset, and it not only makes a tasty gin, … Discover our blog full of gin cocktail recipes, reviews, competitions and everything you ever wanted to know about gin! I think Dorset Dry Gin works well in a Martini and Gin and Tonic; however, I found that the overall flavor profile works quite well across floral drinks such as the Aviation, citrus drinks like the Gimlet (especially the Gimlet) and perhaps the only thing I found it wanting in was the Negroni where the nuance was lost and all that remained was a dull juniper note. The spice, not particularly present with the original, is more fiery here and more enduring too. For those not in the know, a conker is the seed of a horse chestnut tree. On the lips, the juniper hits at the same time as the spirit, creating a pine explosion that’s further accentuated by the vivacious nature of the lime peel, which also leaps in to makes itself known. For Conker Gin, the eureka moment came when Holloway realised that he couldn’t buy a local G&T, despite the fact that there are craft brewers and distillers popping up all over the country. Produced in Dorset's first gin distillery, Conker Gin is distilled in-house in 30 litre copper pot stills … Though a little craggy around the edges now, Holloway was a fresh face in the drinks industry when Conker Gin launched. Cream. Basically, Holloway now produces a concentrate which can be mixed with more alcohol and then watered down to bottling strength. On the nose, both the sweet port and the woody barrel are obvious to discern, bringing a forest fruit sensation on top of what is familiar Conker Gin territory (summer meadows and soft sweetness). Gin is a clear, high-alcohol drink whose flavor is created by distilling neutral grain spirit with a combination of plant extracts (botanicals), most famously juniper berries (see also Genever). Whilst still a proper classic gin, led by a dry Macedonian juniper heart, the subtle incorporation of the Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked New Forest gorse flowers brings bright and refreshing lighter notes to Conker.Brazenly refreshing and deftly smooth, the Dorset Dry … Learn about gin production, the history of the rise of Conker Spirit and how they landed on the final 10 botanical recipe of the Dorset Dry. Holloway himself recommends a Martini with a dry vermouth and a grapefruit peel twist, a mix we certainly enjoy ourselves (suggested ratio is 5 parts Conker, 1 Vermouth)… It’s delicately poised though, so suits being served both classic or with at twist in a Martin. If you are going classic, take our word for it and try Belsazar Dry Vermouth – it partners really well. They looked at recipes together and explored the flavour journeys the gins Holloway was creating seemed to be taking. 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