Most gin begins in a sack of grain. This one begins in the soil of a farm in Herefordshire, where the potatoes are lifted, washed, mashed and fermented on site. Only then does juniper enter the picture. Here in 3 cl, for anyone curious about what a potato tastes like once it has become gin.
The expert's description
Sample 3 cl Chase Great British Extra Dry Gin 40% is an Extra Dry Gin distilled from Chase potato vodka with eleven botanicals and bottled at 40%.
Chase Distillery sits on Rosemaund Farm in Herefordshire, England, and the farm is where the whole thing starts. Potatoes are grown in the fields around the distillery and turned into vodka on the spot. That vodka is the base for the gin, which is redistilled with eleven botanicals: juniper buds, juniper berries, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, almond, coriander, cardamom, cloves, liquorice and lemon peel.
The potato base makes itself felt. Where a grain-based gin is often lean and sharp, potato brings a thicker, almost creamy mouthfeel, and it carries spice better than a neutral grain spirit would. That is why so much warm spice can sit in the recipe without the gin turning heavy.
Extra Dry in the name points to the style. Nothing is sweetened, and although cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg sound like something that belongs in December, the gin stays at the dry, spiced end the whole way through. This 3 cl bottling exists so the style can be learned before a full bottle is chosen.
Tasting notes
Nose
Warm spice first, cinnamon and clove side by side, nutmeg right behind them. Juniper sits underneath as a dry pine note, and there is a trace of overripe fruit and lemon peel out at the edge.
Palate
Creamy to feel, dry to taste. The spices land immediately, cinnamon and clove up front, black pepper and ginger behind. Juniper cuts in across the middle with resin and pine, while liquorice and almond lay down a soft floor.
Finish
Long and spiced. Peppery warmth stays in the throat while the lemon peel dries the mouth out, and at the very end juniper is left standing on its own.
Specifications
Name: Sample 3 cl Chase Great British Extra Dry Gin 40%
Producer: Chase Distillery
Region/Country: Herefordshire, England
Type: Extra Dry Gin
ABV: 40%
Size: 3 CL
Botanicals: Juniper buds, juniper berries, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, almond, coriander, cardamom, cloves, liquorice and lemon peel
Distillation method: Redistillation of Chase potato vodka with eleven botanicals
Serving suggestion: With Tonic Water, ice and a wide strip of lemon peel
Flavour profile
Spiced · Dry · Creamy · Juniper-forward · Peppery
Did you know?
The man behind the distillery, William Chase, was a potato farmer long before he was a distiller. He first turned his own crop into crisps under the Tyrrells name, sold that business, and then used the same fields to make spirits instead.
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