Cocktail Hour: Greenall's Bloom Gin

I like gin. This is an inescapable truth and will probably feature in any sort of obituary or epitaph that's written about me. It's very rare though that I stray from the tried and tested path of Tanqueray or Hendricks though so when I got the chance to try Greenall's Bloom gin, I wasn't going to say no.

This is very definitely a pretty gin. It starts with the bottle which looks like a very elegant old medicine bottle and what is gin if not medicinal*? It also has a cork stopper which makes a very satisfying pop when you open it. As for the gin itself, well that's pretty as well. It doesn't particularly smell like gin, it smells too clean and vaguely floral. Which is, er, appropriate seeing as it was conjured up after Joanne Moore, who is apparently "the only known female master gin distiller", was chilling in her back garden. As such there's honeysuckle and chamomile in there which add to the taste as well as the smell.

Just as it doesn't particularly smell like gin, it doesn't particularly taste like gin. But that's not a bad thing. It's very light, not too sweet but still has an underlying suckerpunch of gin-ness. I had it with regular old tonic but I'm excited to try it with some elderflower pressé or proper lemonade which is where I think the flavours will come into their own.

It's not going to replace my regular gin but it will be a very nice addition for when I want something a bit more delicate. If you want to try some, look out for it in a bar or you can buy it from Waitrose or direct from Greenall's.


*Although I have watched every episode of ER ever, I am not a qualified medical professional but gin is not medicinal. We know you drink responsibly because you're hella smart.