Review

Gwirodydd Lysh
Sloe & Almond Gin

Gwenan Ellis of Gwirodydd Lysh Liqueurs, Dolanog, Welshpool, Powys, Montgomeryshire, Wales, UK.

Gwirodydd Lysh Liqueurs.

Gwenan Ellis spent many years producing country wines on her farm, which included cowslip & nettle, elderflower and parsnip. She then decided to move into liqueurs and put all her efforts towards this endeavor. Lysh was established in 2004 and, like the previous wines, uses the fruit from the orchards and hedgerows on the family farm. Strong proponents of sustainability they resolutely use fruit only picked from their land with surplus fruit seeded and then replanted to increase their blackthorn (sloe) and damson plants.

Sloes are steeped in an undisclosed Gin with sugar and a small amount of almond essence for 4 months. This is then filtered before being bottled.

The Gin is presented in a tall clear rectangular bottle, showing it’s deep red color. It has a large white label with “Lysh” in black colored text positioned vertically and a heart at the top.

Flavored Gin - Sloe.

26% (54 Proof).

Unknown. This is sold locally at fairs and through a few local retailers (see their website for a list), but none sell online so we can’t even find a price. We hope an online retailer can be found, who is also prepared to ship internationally.

Unknown but certainly includes almond (essence), sloes and juniper berries.

Gwirodydd is the plural of the Welsh word Gwirod, which translates into English as “Water of Life”. The is the same phrase used by the Irish and Scottish to describe their Whisky but, today in the Welsh form, it is usually used to refer to a liquor chaser. Lysh (pronounced “Lush”) is the Welsh abbreviation for luscious, so we have the phrase: luscious liquor chaser. Interestingly, the Welsh originated slang phrase “Going out on the lysh”, means going out on the town for a few (well perhaps quite a few) drinks.

Unfortunately we have not tasted this yet, or any other Lysh product, so are unable to provide any details.

Unknown.