Blood Monkey Irish Craft Gin 70cl

Product Information

Finally, Matt Chambers, co-founder of the Whisky for Everyone blog and the North London Whisky Club, chaired the final team, which included Anne Jones, drinks experience and events at Waitrose, and Angelo Sparvoli, head bartender at St James Bar in London. Produced in Somerset, the homeland of British cider making, Showerings is an ‘elegantly dry, gently carbonated and deeply cultured cider that has been created using techniques requiring as much experience and attention-to-detail as those used in the creation of fine wines’

Another double-Master win was collected by Atom Brands, which won the awards for Jaffa Cake Gin, found to be “fun, chocolatey, and moreish”, and Bathtub Gin Grapefruit & Rosemary, described as “being obviously grapefruit and rosemary, with a very ‘ginny’ palate”. Subtle tartness King Hill’s Gin secured a Master medal after the judges discovered flavours of “sweet cinnamon, juniper and lovely green herbs”, while Lord Misrule received the Master title for being “interesting and complex, with a lovely sweet mouthfeel”. A 27-strong set of Silver medals concluded the flight, including: Chapel Down Pinot Noir Gin, Distilled Gin Naud, Sir Edmond Gin, and Junimperium Sloe Gin. The brand name and signature drill bit design are a nod to the act of ‘bleeding the monkey’, when sailors drilled into the officers’ barrel of grog to steal the liquor inside. The Copeland Distillery also received a Master award for its Jones 1778 Navy Strength Gin, enjoyed for aromas of “bright juniper” leading to “a well-balanced, juniper-forward and complex” palate.Muff Irish Potato gin with a splash of tonic, a slice of orange and a twig of rosemary. REBEL CITY GIN Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin regularly scoops global awards, including the aforementioned double gold in San Francisco World Spirits Awards as well as The Gin Masters, IWSC and the Irish Gin Awards. Blood Monkey Gin is a premium gin, as such, it is priced at a premium level compared to other gins on the market. Those who want to put in a tad more effort (but only a tad) might opt for a classic negroni; one part Campari, one part gin, one part sweet vermouth, with an orange peel for garnish.

Four Master medallists got the Navy Strength segment off to a very strong start. Another Master joined the growing collection earned by Hernö Gin Distillery, as a Master award was given to the brand’s high-proof expression. Hernö Navy Strength Gin won a Master award for being “well-balanced, with plenty of juniper and a long finish”.Milliken was very impressed by the standard of entries in the Navy Strength flight. “There were a couple of standouts there, especially the aged ones. Despite the navy strength, I found these very easy to drink. I did add water to them, not because I needed to, but to see how they worked – and they worked either way.” Praise for the standard of London Dry gins continued. Athavia also constructively noted about this heat: “A few were a little on the sweet side, and when considering tonic or mixers, these may become a bit too sweet for consumers.”

In 2018 I started to explore gin and realised that they all seemed to follow a similar path. The only differential was the provenance and the botanicals, but most had a similar taste profile. Coming into a growing market with a lot of brands already present, we wanted to be different – both with our brand and the flavours of our gin. Prousaefs noted: “This was an incredibly consistent flight, with all products following a good structure, and great mixability. The category shows a lot of diversity, escaping the traditional gin flavour notes.” Flavoured gin brands showed quality abounds See themuffliquorcompany.com for a choice of gift boxes, including A Taste of Home, which includes Tayto crisps, Barry's Tea and Muff Potato Gin.

This competition is conducted in partnership with The Spirits Business and consists of a series of blind-tasting evaluations that cover one of the fastest-growing spirit categories in the world over the last 10 years. Eight Gold medals gave the flight a boost, with awards going to Inverclyde Old Thom Gin with “lots of raspberry”, and “well balanced with a good aftertaste” OP Anderson Distillery Old Tom Gin.