Poetic License launches Espresso Gin

Independent distillery Poetic License has launched Espresso Gin as the next release in its The Rarities range.

The Rarities are one-batch distillations with only a few hundred bottles of each prodcued.

Distiller, Luke Smith, says: “We do love to experiment and having produced lots of fruit flavoured gins I wanted to push the boundaries a bit further. Coffee is a very strong flavour itself so it was a tricky balance to strike to ensure both the flavours of the coffee and the gin came across but I am happy with how the gin turned out.

“We worked in collaboration with fellow north-east business Tynemouth Coffee Company using their Espresso blend coffee – this uses arabica beans picked from 2000ft above sea level to ensure only the finest are used. These were coarsely ground, placed in the pot and distilled along with our other botanicals.”

Discussing serves, Luke comments: “This gin is delightful just with ice, but with light tonic and a lime peel garnish really works as a G&T. As a cocktail, it would be a travesty not to use this in an espresso martini! We found a substituting out the Kahlua for the Espresso Gin works well. Also try putting steeping coffee beans in the vodka for an extra coffee hit and better retention of the crema head on the drink.”

‘The Rarities’ range launched in 2017, during which time there were four limited edition flavoured gins produced; an Orange Blossom in February, a Cherry and Basil in June and a Gooseberry & Elderflower in September and finally a Blackberry and Bay in October.

There are five more rarities planned for 2018, as well as new product launches.

23 January 2018 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor