Enough of the frippery, we quickly found the bar, and our hosts within it. It seemed like only seconds after our arrival that Sipsmith’s gin and tonics were thrust into the steely grip of each of us and very good drinks they were too. Our evening had begun. The refreshingly vibrant bubbliness and the gin background notes washing through the palate from these welcoming drinks prepared us well for what was to come. The neat tastings were next, a measure each of the gin and the vodka, both served at room temperature and as we sipped, the Sipsmith team explained to us the process making these two beverages. Not really vodka drinkers, we were surprised at the depth of flavour that this one had, a slight sweetness, with soft warm notes and some peppery afterheat developing on the palate, it had a viscous-like coating quality in the mouth which we loved. The gin had a more complex flavour, an edgy fruitiness and again, like the vodka, peppery afterheat developing in the mouth and a nice mouth coating viscosity to it. We understand and were amused, that the booze tasting cognoscenti call this ‘mouth-feel’, which almost sounds rude, so viscosity does it for us.
The the gin and vodka each start out life as barley spirit, which Sipsmith buy in and then distil into the finished article, having gone through maceration proceses to achieve their distinctive individual flavours. They are made in small batches of no more than 500 bottles, each batch handcrafted by the Sipsmith team.
Sipsmith gin and vodka is available in only a small number of outlets, but you can order it direct from the makers. Should you want to know more about these two products, you might wish to check out their web site www.sipsmith.com where you will also find the ‘buy’ option.