Review

-Ish Gin

The Poshmakers Ltd, London & Madrid, Spain (made by Thames Distillers Ltd., Clapham, London, England, UK).

-Ish.

Ellie Baker, originally from Bristol in the UK, runs a Gin bar called “The Bristol Bar” in Madrid, with her Spanish husband Fran Ameijeiras. Opening the bar provided an ideal vantage point, helping them to take advantage of the “continuing to grow” Spanish Gin market by devising their very own Gin (Ellie has a degree and background in oenology). The Gin was launched in late 2010 and the marketing used is rather risqué (fetish themed) - by comparison to the standard - with a buy line for the drink as “Britain’s Fet-ish”.

Thames Distillers is run by Charles Maxwell who is the 8th generation of the family (founders of the Finsbury Distillery) who have been producing Gin since 1700 – making them the oldest unbroken lineage in Gin distillation.

Made from British neutral grain it is distilled 4 times in a traditional pot still. The botanicals are then steeped for 24 hours before being distilled for the 5th and final time. The resulting distillate is rested for a minimum of 2 weeks before being blended.

The Gin is presented in a squat, round, ruby-red colored bottle with screen-printed white lettering.

London Dry Gin.

41% (82 Proof).

$$$$ - $$$$$. Not available in the USA but try Master of Malt in the UK and prepare to pay an additional 60% for shipping.

11 botanicals are used - we believe their website states 12 to account for the double dos of juniper berries : almond, angelica root, cassia, cinnamon, coriander seeds, juniper berries (Baltic), lemon peel, liquorice, nutmeg, orange peel and orris root.

-Ish represents the suffix (as in English, British, stylish etc.) and is an abbreviation of Irresistible Scandalous Hallmark.

On the nose is perfumed pine (juniper) with citrus (orange) and faint spice (coriander). On the palate this softly smooth oily spirit has a little initial sweetness (orange), which turns into dry juniper and sharp citrus (lemon & coriander) with herbal notes and faint cinnamon. In the close the dry juniper dominates with herbal and peppery spice notes plus a faint sweet marzipan (almond) in the finish. There are hints of complexity in this nicely rounded Gin.

This is a traditional style London Dry Gin designed with the classic Gin cocktails in mind whilst maintaining its versatility. It makes a very dry Gin & Tonic and a lime garnish is to be strongly recommended. In a Martini the same dryness is to be found with a little sweet citrus (orange) in the background, a lemon twist garnish adds a little tartness to good effect. The dryness comes from twice the amount of juniper being used than the standard London Dry recipe and it very pleasingly shows itself clearly with a clean freshness in most drinks.

Whether you like the marketing or not, overall this is a good flavorsome Gin and is recommended by us. We’d best leave you with their own words to sum up this Gin: "ish as an attitude, bold yet stylish, always provoking, ish needs no excuses, never apologises, very brit".

Master Medal, Gin Masters, 2013.