It might seem superfluous to write about spring- and summer-inspired gin – after all, what else is gin and tonic if not spring-like and summery – let alone gin-based cocktails such as the white lady or the French 75. Then again, you know as well as I do that no distiller is going to miss the opportunity to craft another “expression”, as they call such things these days, let alone charge you more for it. In fact, I now get quite excited when I find a gin for under £30 – even own-label supermarket gins hover around the £17 mark.
The platinum jubilee is, of course, an ideal opportunity for producers to cash in. In the interests of balance, I tried quite a few of the new offerings, and – surprise! – it turns out they’re not necessarily an improvement on the originals. If you’re a fan of Silent Pool (which I am), for example, I’m not sure you’ll go for its Platinum Celebration Gin, which has a cloyingly peachy flavour – especially because it costs £45, rather than the usual £38. Given the beauty of the bottle, however, maybe this is one for collectors rather than drinkers. I do really like the new Whitley Neill gin in today’s pick, though.
