It’s easy to get tripped up in an internal debate, when it comes to a “new” product in a very old style. A cynical writer … not that I know any … might be likely to discount the very idea of say, producing a new London dry gin from the U.K. to sit and gather dust alongside dozens of other, better-known brands on the shelf. What is there to say, we might argue, in a field where everything has been said? But at the same time, this kind of posturing has the potential to blind us from uncovering better versions of a classic style, well-executed examples that help the consumer to remember why a style is popular in the first place. And that’s an apt summary of Highclere Castle Gin.
The titular Highclere Castle is an elegant country mansion, built in 1679 and located in Hampshire, England, in the southeast of the country. Its sprawling estate would seem quite familiar to many American media consumers even if they’ve never been to the U.K., for one critical reason: It was the primary site of filming for the majority of the series Downton Abbey, filling in for that titular estate. Thus, it make perfect sense that the estate would today have its own gin brand, which does indeed draw botanicals from plants grown on site.
Those botanicals describe a pretty classical London dry gin, featuring the obvious (juniper, citrus) along with other noted botanicals such as lavender, lime flower (linden), angelica, licorice, coriander, cardamom and cassia. One not-so-common addition is oats grown on the grounds, and typically reserved for the local horses. These are not part of the mash, as one might expect, but are instead added to the tea bag with the other botanicals. The company says this is meant to provide a fuller, smoother texture, though I haven’t previously heard of oats being able to grant that characteristic without being mashed to create the base spirit. Regardless, most of the recipe here is quite familiar. It’s really in the execution that Highclere Castle Gin ultimately shows its quality.
So with that said, let’s get to tasting it.