Review

Kensington Silver Gin

Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd., Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland, UK.

Ian Macleod Distillery.

Leonard J Russell established a business in 1933 and in 1963 the Russell family acquired the Ian Macloed distillery. Today it is in its third generation of family leadership and is best known for their whiskies, which include Glengoyne Highland single malt.

The original Kensington Gin was launched in 2001, but we are unsure if this “Silver” version came before or after!

Handcrafted and distilled in copper alembic pot stills with Scottish mineral water.

London Dry Gin.

37.5% (75 Proof).

$. Limited availability; but can be found in some mainland European countries but seems most popular in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Unfortunately we have not been able to identify any sources online (let alone able to ship to the USA).

We suspect this is made with the same 15 botanicals as the original Kensington Gin, namely: almonds (Spain), angelica root (Portugal), cardamom seed (France), cassia bark (Asia), cinnamon (Sri Lanka), coriander seeds (France), cubeb berries (Pacific Rim), fennel seeds (Germany), grains of paradise (Pacific Rim), juniper berries (Tuscany), lemon peel (Spain), liquorice root (Mediterranean), nutmeg (West Indies), orange peel (Spain) and orris root (Italy).

By removing the almond, cardamom seed, cinnamon, cubeb berries and fennel seed, and adding some ginger, we have the same botanical ingredients as London Hill Gin - also produced by Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd.

We assume this is named after the London Borough of Kensington, probably because this area could be considered the London birthplace of Gin. Queen Mary of England and her new husband, William of Orange from Holland were seeking a new residence in London. In 1689 they bought Nottingham House just to the West of Westminster, had renovations and additions made by Christopher Wren, and renamed it Kensington Palace. William of Orange is responsible for boosting the popularity of locally produced grain spirits (including imports from Holland) by making them free from levies of any kind (as opposed to the heavy taxation upon wine and spirits from Catholic states e.g. France, Spain etc.). Thus, the “Gin Craze” was born in London. Kensington palace is now a shared residence for members of the Royal family, rather than the Monarchs, prompting King Edward VIII to call it the “Aunt heap”.

In 1965 Kensington was renamed The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and is an exclusive area, being one of the most expensive places to live in the world. It is famed for its museums, embassies, high-class hotels, the Royal Colleges of Art and Music plus Olympia Exhibition Centre and the Royal Albert Hall. For some it is best known for its upmarket shopping, including shops such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Perhaps an ideal setting for buying some of the most exclusive (and expensive) Gins!

Unfortunately we have not tasted this yet, so are unable to provide any details. Usually it would be interesting to see how it compares with other Gins in the same range, in this case the original Kensington Gin or the Kensington Reserve XO. However both of these Gins are Cask Aged and so is hard to compare against this un-aged “Silver” version. Given the similarity of botanicals we would be more interested to see how this compares against another sister product, the London Hill Gin.

Unknown.