Hold the bottle up to the light and the colour gives itself away at once: a pale golden tone that comes not from a cask but from saffron. In Huntly, Aberdeenshire, where most bottles contain whisky, someone put the world's most labour-intensive spice into a gin. Here in 3 cl.
The expert's description
Sample 3 cl Indian Summer Duncan Taylor Saffron Infused Gin 46% is a Saffron Infused Gin distilled with juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root, cassia, liquorice, almond, lemon and orange, with saffron added after distillation, and bottled at 46%.
Behind the gin stands Duncan Taylor in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, a house that built its name on Scotch whisky and on casks left to sit for a long time. Indian Summer is the house gin, and the name gestures at saffron's route from the Mediterranean fields eastwards.
The base recipe is classical. Juniper, coriander, angelica and orris root form the backbone, lemon and orange lay in the peel, and cassia, liquorice and almond supply the warm, slightly soft floor. Only afterwards does the unusual part happen: the saffron goes into the finished spirit instead of travelling through the still.
There is a reason for that. Saffron's aroma is fragile and would suffer from the heat of distillation, so infusing it later preserves both the scent and the golden colour. The colour is not added, it comes straight from the spice. The 46% gives the gin enough power to carry the saffron through ice and tonic alike.
Tasting notes
Nose
Saffron sits on top, dry and faintly honeyed, with something close to warm hay. Beneath it lies the classical gin aroma: juniper, angelica and coriander with an exotic turn.
Palate
Orange peel first, then cassia bark and a peppery warmth. Juniper steps forward across the middle with a clear pine note, and the saffron holds all the way through as a dry, almost floral undercurrent. Almond rounds it off softly.
Finish
Medium-long and spiced. Peppercorn and citrus peel linger, and despite the 46% there is no burning edge, only a warm tone settling down slowly.
Specifications
Name: Sample 3 cl Indian Summer Duncan Taylor Saffron Infused Gin 46%
Producer: Duncan Taylor
Region/Country: Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Type: Saffron Infused Gin
ABV: 46%
Size: 3 CL
Botanicals: Juniper, coriander, angelica, orris root, cassia, liquorice, almond, lemon, orange and saffron
Distillation method: Distilled gin with saffron infused after distillation
Serving suggestion: With Tonic Water, ice and a slice of orange
Flavour profile
Spiced · Citrus · Floral · Dry · Warm
Did you know?
Duncan Taylor was founded in 1938 and started out as a cask trader, buying and sitting on Scotch whisky casks on other people's behalf. Only many decades later did the house begin bottling under its own name, and gin is one of the newer chapters in that story.
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