Drinks Review: Nantwich Gin with Two Cocktail Recipes*

The weather is finally here and perhaps you’re thinking of having friends around for cocktails! I know I love to do this and my most trusty taster is a lovely neighbour, who is always happy to share a cocktail with me! I say share what I mean is each have our own cocktail! For our latest blog review we have been sent a locally produced Gin by Cheshire Botanicals, in the Historic Town of Nantwich.

With its beautiful buildings, 138 of which are Grade II listed, and most were constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries, Nantwich town has an iconic black and white silhouette. This iconic look is how Cheshire Botanicals have  chosen to decorate their Nantwich Gin bottle, giving it a unique look, accompanied by a unique taste too! We have decided to create two cocktails based around this lovely local gin, one which is a twist on a Margarita and the second we took a more classic route and created a quirky quintessential gin and tonic!

If you want to see what we thought and where you can get your hands on a bottle of Nantwich Gin, please keep reading…

What I thought of the Gin and our two Cocktails?

Firstly, I always love to have a little shot of gin to try it neat, so you can get some clarity on the flavours.  This gin was really delicious, again I tried it with my neighbour, who also thought that neat this was a really flavoured drink. I initially thought I could taste notes of liquorice, but was corrected when my friend said it was defiantly florally and perhaps lavender, then when we went to check the ingredients, we realised she was right!

The depth of flavour in this gin is probably the most I have ever tasted. It has the bitter edge that you can always taste from the Juniper berries (which is the base for all gin) but it also has a rounded flavour which is so pleasant, and a definite warmth to it which I later found out to be the addition of pink peppercorns.

I would say that you can easily drink this with a soda/sparkling water with ice as it is so yummy, and this would create a refreshing alternative to a tonic. But I actually went all out this time and made a twist on one of my absolute favourite drinks, a Margarita. I call my new invention an Apple Ginita. Of course, this is a total twist with its use of Gin and not Tequila, so any aficionados please don’t be offended! And to accompany the Gin, I used limoncello and brambly apple sauce with lime. I served in a Martini class and it was a perfect summer drink, with the zesty taste from both the apple and lime and the bitter edge from the gin!

The second drink is a Gin and Dandelion and Burdock Tonic. This really brings out the true bitter sour edge of the Gin and made from a slight alternative to the classic G&T. I used a bit of dandelion to dress this for a simple and easy drink to make when friends have just dropped in.

The Cocktail Recipes 

Apple Ginita 

A handful of ice
The juice of one lime
50ml of Nantwich Gin
25ml of Limoncello
1 tbsp of Brambly Apple Sauce (you could use Granny Smith apples, but the sharper apple the better)
a top of Cloudy/Regular Apple Juice (needs to be ice cold)

In a cocktail shaker or a tall glass, add a handful of ice, your gin, apple sauce (I used homemade but a store bought version will work just fine), your lime juice, and limoncello, give it a good shake so that your drink it super chilled. Before you pour it into your Martini glass, salt the rim just like you would for a Margarita – Then pour it in, (if you’re using a tall glass for your mix make sure you use a strainer to pour it into your glass, as you don’t want the ice cubes or apple sauce to pour in), then top with cloudy/regular apple juice. Serve with a apple wedge to garnish (tip always rub lemon or lime juice on your apple wedge this will stop it browning).

G&DBT (short for Gin & Dandelion and Burdock Tonic!) 

This is so easy to make, just get a big bowl like Gin glass, put in a handful of ice, add in 50ml of Nantwich Gin, and pour over your Dandelion and Burdock Gin. Grab some dandelions from the garden (preferably ones that your sure haven’t been sprayed with weedkiller) and give them a good wash in clean water. Then pop them in your glass to garnish!

This might seem a cheat on the cocktail front but sometimes when a gin tastes this good keeping it simple it the best approach and the best way to show off the gin.

Where can you buy Nantwich Gin? 

You can buy this Gin directly from Cheshire Botanicals website in their shop section.

How much is Nantwich Gin? 

A 70cl bottle is £42.

About Nantwich Gin & Cheshire Botanicals 

Not surprisingly Nantwich Gin has won two awards this year. The Gin Guide Award 2021 and Long Spirits Competition – Silver Award. Cheshire Botanicals is a family run business, in Nantwich and wanted to produce something that was iconic to this town. Well, this Gin certainly doesn’t disappoint on this level. Their knowledge in growing and cultivating herbs has allowed them to have true knowledge in producing a spirit with such a distinctive taste.

What more, the founders of the fabulous Gin used the lockdown in order to hone in their recipe for their newly created Nantwich Gin, which has certainly benefited from this special treatment, and all this effort has clearly paid off. If you want to keep informed with the next step Cheshire Botanicals plan to take go to their website. But if you want a sneak preview, their latest Gin will be inspired by Deb (one of the Trio of founders) who has spent a lifetime in the NHS, do you think it will be blue themed? I wonder which botanicals would fare well with this? I can’t wait to see what they create and hopefully get a chance to taste it too!

Review by : Lex Ward

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