Darnley's Gin Cottage Series Goes Very Berry

Darnley's Gin launches " Very Berry" as the inaugural release in its range of limited editions under the banner, Cottage Series. This is the first recipe to be developed by Scott Gowans in his role as Distiller and the first product to be released from the brand's new Scottish distillery, adding to the existing three core expressions. Inspiration for the recipe was taken from the countryside in which the Darnley's Gin cottage sits.

Distiller Scott commented: "Inspiration for Very Berry came from the countryside of the East Neuk of Fife, home to Darnley's Distillery. I selected the signature botanicals of sloe berry, rosehip and elderberry which all grow wild around the distillery cottage and sugar kelp which is farmed off the nearby coastline. The overall taste is floral and fruity, giving a different taste profile to the others in the Darnley's range."

TASTING NOTE

Nose: Sugar Kelp gives both sweet and salty notes with rosehip adding a fragrance of raspberry and hibiscus.

Palate: Tart and bitter up front with rich fruit from elderberry and sloes.

Finish: Finishing with a sweet and aromatic character over the palate balanced with a coastal mineral flavour reminiscent of the sea breeze at the beach near our distillery.

Developed by Scott on a mini still in the Darnley's Gin Cottage, the recipe was then scaled up for full distillation using a combination of traditional distillation and vapour infusion. This is the first time Darnley's Gin has used this in production.

The four signature botanicals (rosehip, elderberry, sloe berry and sugar kelp) are loaded into a muslin bag and placed into the vapour basket above the pot still holding the neutral grain spirit, juniper, angelica and coriander. This creates the delicate, floral flavours to be embedded in the spirit.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Enjoy 3 ways

•Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic and a red berry garnish

•Tonic and grapefruit garnish

•Good quality grapefruit soda, like Bon Accord Salted Pink Grapefruit Soda.

Just 2100 bottles of Darnley's Gin Very Berry was produced and is available in a 50cl bottle at 41.5%abv. Very Berry is available in the UK only and is retailing at Darnley's Gin Distillery, their on line shop and available exclusively through Inverarity Morton for wider distribution. It has an SRP of £27.95.