Review: Walled Garden Gin

Gin from castles. So hot right now.

Following on the footsteps of brands like Downton Abbey Gin and Highclere Castle, Walled Garden makes a big deal about the building it’s made in. This gin hails from a Scottish castle rather than an English one, though, where it’s made by Zara Gordon-Lennox the executive gardener of an eight-acre walled garden at Gordon Castle Estate.

Designed to be “culturally feminine without being exclusionary,” the gin is made entirely with botanicals grown within the titular garden — although those botanicals have never been enumerated. The base distillate is neutral grain spirits.

Walled Garden Gin Review

On first nosing, the gin doesn’t feel overly feminine, though it’s plenty floral. Notes of lavender and chamomile dominate, muscling juniper to the side. An earthier note of angelica builds as the gin lingers in the glass, eventually supplanting the florals in the mix.

The palate is similar, with intense florals and some mint up top, though here there’s a significant citrus note that adds some zip to the gin. Lightly minty with hints of vanilla, there’s a certain sweetness on the body that makes the gin feel creamier and richer than its 43% abv would suggest. It’s quite clean and approachable throughout, though the finish feels more simplistic than expected, returning to its floral beginnings and — in the end — proving more feminine that I’d thought. Quite refreshing.

86 proof.

A- / $28

The post Review: Walled Garden Gin appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.