Aberdeen Gin Club: Island Life event

As a kid, I was a member of various different clubs. You name it, I've probably been enrolled in it, but as an adult, I find myself not really belonging anywhere. Yes there's work and some of us have the odd hobby we're involved in, but that's no where near the joy and fulfillment belonging to a club would bring to me as a child. 

All that changed when one day I spied a Facebook post announcing that a new gin club was being launched in the city. A keen enthusiast of the spirit, I was thrilled to attend the first ever Aberdeen Gin Club event the club hosted - Island Life.

Having already tasted my fair share of gins, I was delighted to see a few gins on the list which I hadn't managed to try before. Organised by director, Peter Sim or Peaty Nose, the event took place at the recently revamped The Four Mile, Peter talked us through the different gins, taking us on a trip around the Isles of Scotland

Putting out tastebuds to the test, we sampled some of Scotland's finest Island gins, taking notes and scoring each one as we went.

The first stop on our trip was Colonsay, trying out Colonsay Gin (47%).

Taking inspiration from Celtic folklore and the Hebridean beauty of the Island, the gin is made in small batches of 160 bottles per run. The bottle design has been heavily themed on Alva, the red-haired maiden who lives at the home of Wild Thyme Spirits - the company behind Colonsay Gin.

A London Dry style, the premium artisan gin can only add more alcohol or water to it to bring the proof of the gin down.

Featuring angelica roots, liquorice, coriander (seed), orange and numerous other botanicals the gin boasted a prickly spice and has a stronger smell and taste due to its higher ABV.

Using calamus - a type of reed - the gin makers take the rhizome from it and use it in the gin, giving it that sharp smell.

Pairing well with a slice of green chilli or a twist of orange peel I was pleasantly surprised at how great this gin tasted. It was smooth, but had a real kick of flavour to it without being too punchy.

*tried with Bon Accord tonic and a slice of orange.

Brand ambassador for Colonsay Gin, Scott Rose, also paid a special visit and gave an real in-depth insight into the gin too on the evening.

Next stop, Orkney.

The first Orkney gin we tried was Orkney Gin company's Johnsmas (41.3%). Hand crafted in Orkney from seven times distilled grain spirit and the finest botanicals, it's a compunded gin rather than distilled and is similar in style to a bath tub gin.

The grain is distilled seven times ensuring there's no roughness to the gin. Johnsmas is Orkney Gin's summer gin which is very floral and light. Their Mikkelmas gin is their winter gin and is much more aromatic.

For me, when I tasted it the gin tasted quite similar to Turkish delight. I don't mean it tasted like chocolate, but it boasted the same sweet floral tastes, with a rose flavour coming through quite predominantly.

It was a beautiful gin and was one of my favourite's of the whole evening. I love sweet, floral notes within my gin and it really did stand out for me. In comparison to the taste, the branding was something that didn't capture my attention as much as the others, which just goes to show that you should never judge a gin by its bottle. With a slight hint of spice just to round the drink off a the end, it was a real delicious gin.

*tried with Fever Tree elderflower tonic and a wedge of lime

The second Orkney gin I tried was Kirkjuvar (43%).
This premium gin, pronounced kirk-u-var has a sweet smell of pine with top notes of lemon and was also a well scored gin. The gin was inspired by the Island's spirit which also come across strongly in the company's branding.

The gin was a good, well rounded gin, however, personally I didn't feel it boasted as strong a profile as I was hoping. Being an individual with a sweeter palette, I'm unsure if it was this, or the fact I'd started to have too much gin, but it just wasn't jumping out at me. I got a slight taste of rose, which isn't surprising as they use two types of roses as botanicals, but it just wasn't as pungent as the first Orkney gin.

*tried with Bon Accord tonic and a wedge of lime

Next up we returned to Colonsay to put Wild Island Gin (43.7%) to the test.

With 16 botanicals there was a lot going on in this gin. So much so my palette seemed a little confused as to what to pick out first. A lover of this brand's bottle, this was the first time I'd managed to try this gin. Following the hype of it, I was really excited about getting the chance to try it out.

The gin itself has a sweet yet sour flavour to it, reminding me slightly of sherbet lemons - which I think is due to the lemon peel and balm used in the recipe. It started quite warm with a hint of spice, soon followed by a floral, smooth and long finish. The perfect serve is said to be with an orange peel to accentuate its citrus notes.

*tried with Bon Accord tonic and a slice of orange

Last but not least was a jolly over to the Isle of Harris to enjoy Isle of Harris gin (45%).

A brand I am very familiar with, it's one of my favourite looking bottles. With its stunning design and beautiful branding, the bottle stands out from the crowd in the sea of gins now available on the market.

The gin boasts nine botanicals, including its popular, most talked about botanical, local hand-harvested sugar kelp. Although this gin's main botanicals are very much focused around the connections the gin has to the Island, the gin thankfully does not taste like sea water. In fact, it has quite a fruity and sweet floral, slightly herbal taste to it with flavours of mango, grapefruit, orange and crushed green herbs coming through.

We were also given the chance to try out the newly launched (at the time) Isle of Harris sugar kelp aromatic water. A drop or two of this is said to enhance the flavours of the gin - I tried it on my hand and it was surprisingly good.

The recommended serve for Isle of Harris is a piece of pink or red grapefruit or a wedge of lime.

*tried with Bon Accord tonic and a wedge of lime.

After the gin tasting was over and scorecards were collected, we were then treated to two gin cocktails which Peter had created, utilising two of the gins from the tasting. Both The Bee's Knees and The Rubus tasted excellent, but it was The Rubus which won it for me. Peter kindly shared the cocktail recipes with us so I've decided to share his recipe with you all too - it would be rude to keep these gin cocktails hidden from other gin lovers.

The Bee's Knees
Ingredients:
50ml Wild Island Botanic Gin
2 teaspoons honey
20ml fresh lemon juice
20ml fresh orange juice

Method:
Add the gin and honey into the shaker and stir until honey dissolves. Add lemon and orange juice and top with ice. Shake well and strain into glass. Garnish with an orange zest twist.

The Rubus
Ingredients:
50ml Orkney Gin company's Johnsmas
20ml fresh lemon juice
20ml sugar syrup
25ml Edinburgh gin raspberry

Method:
Add the gin, lemon and sugar syrup into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a glass with ice and garnish with raspberries.

So if you love your gin and you're looking for a local gin club to join, then check out Aberdeen Gin Club's website for all the event dates and further information. The club also organises events in Inverurie, Banchory and many other towns too.  

For Now...

Just Julia