Made to an old family recipe where sloes are steeped in Hayman’s Gin for several months before sugar is added. The aftertaste is a flavor mix of herbal mix with notes of mint, blackberries, cubeb pepper, and lemon. Before we get to that stage, though, it is worth noting the positive boost gin received from its collaboration with tonic, with tonic’s component of quinine a key in the fight against malaria. It all comes down to the length of the maceration, the amount of sugar, the strength, and the amount of fruit used, as well as the different botanicals used in the gin. Monkey 47 have taken their classic gin, made with 47 botanicals, and combined it with berries that have been handpicked from the Black Forest region.

One of the most expensive options, but if you have tried Monkey 47 gin before, you know the quality is on point. As well as the original Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin, there are now a number of different Monkeys (a troop? One of the surviving inhabitants was an egret monkey (a type of macaque) known as Max; Monty became Max’s sponsor. Amongst the botanicals there are six different types of pepper, as well as calamus, almond, angelica, bitter orange, blackberry, cardamom, cassia, chamomile, cinnamon, lemon verbena, cloves, coriander, cranberries, cubeb, dog rose, elderflower, ginger, grains of Paradise, hawthorn berries, hibiscus, honeysuckle, jasmine, lime leaf, lavender, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, liquorice, Monarda Didyma, nutmeg, orris, pimento, pomelo, rosehip, sage, sloe… Yep. I do think that many of these craft gin distilleries are likely to have barrels of rum and/or whisky sleeping away in the corner somewhere, not to be disturbed for years.It is then macerated with wild-growing, hand-picked sloe berries from the Black Forest to create a fruity expression with a taste of berry and almonds, providing both a bitter and sweet taste. The berries are harvested following the first frost of the year, washed, and left to macerate for 4 weeks in their 94-proof Schwarzwald Dry Gin. It may not be reproduced in any way whatsoever without Ocado Limited's prior consent, nor without due acknowledgement. The Black Forest area is notorious for producing some of the world's finest fruit liqueurs, and so Collins eventually began experimenting with distillation. For that reason, we shouldn’t be mistaken for typical “spirits producers” or “liquor entrepreneurs”; we are schnapps distillers to the core and, like a perfumer, constantly on the hunt for aromas and fragrances.

The product and allergen information provided has been supplied by the producer/manufacturer of the products. I should mention that although these mussels are found in Belgium, this is not Claude van Damme – different mussels from Brussels.In 2015, they unveiled a new distillery, where they made the unusual decision of adding in more stills, but instead of bigger and bulkier they opted to go smaller in size.