An English estate family, an old recipe and a decision to bottle the gin stronger than anyone else. Foxdenton makes little noise about itself, but the label reads 48%, and few London Dry Gins go that high. Here in 3 cl, so the strength can be tried in a small glass first.
The expert's description
Sample 3 cl Foxdenton The Original 48 London Dry Gin 48% is a London Dry Gin distilled with juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root and lime flower oil, and bottled at 48%.
Behind the gin stand the Foxdenton Estate Company and the Radclyffe family, whose estate has been in family hands since 1367. The distillation itself takes place at Thames Distillery in London, where Charles Maxwell worked the recipe out, and the first run came to a modest 1,000 litres.
The Original 48 is the flagship and structurally a very classical London Dry Gin. Juniper, coriander, angelica and orris root form the backbone of the style, and it is the fifth ingredient that sets it apart: oil of lime flower. It lays a soft, honeyed floral tone across the dry pine structure and rounds off the high 48% from the inside.
The strength is no accident. A gin bottled this high carries more of the oil-bearing aromatics through into the distillate, and it holds its shape through ice and tonic instead of thinning out. This 3 cl sample is there so the difference between 48% and a standard 40% gin can be felt before a full bottle is chosen.
Tasting notes
Nose
Clean and traditional. Juniper stands out front and dry, and behind it sits coriander with a warm, bread-like tone alongside the earthy root of angelica. Lime flower arrives last as something sweet and floral.
Palate
Opens with lime-like citrus peel and turns dry quickly. Orris root lays a powdery, almost violet note across the middle, and the strength registers as warmth rather than as sharpness. Lime flower keeps the whole thing from becoming severe.
Finish
Dry and long. The pine tone from the juniper hangs on together with something close to dry hay, and it takes a while before the mouth is clean again.
Specifications
Name: Sample 3 cl Foxdenton The Original 48 London Dry Gin 48%
Producer: Foxdenton Estate Company
Region/Country: England
Type: London Dry Gin
ABV: 48%
Size: 3 CL
Botanicals: Juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root and lime flower oil
Edition: The Original 48
Serving suggestion: With Tonic Water, plenty of ice and a strip of lime peel
Flavour profile
Dry · Juniper-forward · Floral · Spiced · Powerful
Did you know?
The Foxdenton estate has been in the Radclyffe family's hands since 1367, when it came to the line through a marriage. The gin is therefore several centuries younger than the family, and its name is a quiet reminder of that.
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