Limited edition hop-flavoured gins launched

Sharp’s Brewery, a modern brewer of cask conditioned beer based in Rock, Cornwall, UK, has collaborated with Southwestern Distillery’s Tarquin’s gin to produce a hop-flavoured gin. The handcrafted Cornish gin will be available to the on-trade for a limited period only.

Understanding the intricacies involved in making gin to create the perfect balance for The Hopster, Ed Hughes, beer sommelier at Sharp’s Brewery, and Tarquin Leadbetter, head distiller at Southwestern Distillery, have combined three types of hops, Crystal, Cascade and Pilot, into the original recipe for Tarquin’s Cornish Gin, which is distilled in a flame-fired copper still.

Fewer than 300 bottles have been distilled in this collaboration batch, which is cut to bottling strength at 42% ABC and finished in a custom bottle design in the Sharp’s Brewery dark blue branding. RRP £36.

Tarquin Leadbetter adds: “Collaborating with Sharp's Brewery to produce The Hopster has been epic. Ed and the team expertly selected three fantastic hop varieties to help create the perfect complement to our gin. Intense, aromatic and beautifully complex, the result is even better than we were expecting.”

Dancing Cows brewery and distillery in Hampshire has also produced a hop-flavoured gin - Lymington Gin, distilled to 43% ABV with juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root and seeds, orris root, bitter orange peel, cardamom, fresh lemon zest and sweet almonds. The finished gin is then infused with Goldings hops to give a heady aroma, increased texture and a flavour. It has an RRP of £24.00 for a 50cl bottle.

11 July 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor