Steeplechase The Thoroughbred Navy Strength Gin

The Thoroughbred is Steeplechase Distillery's navy-strengthNavy StrengthGin bottled at 57% ABV or more. Royal Navy lore holds that at this strength, gunpowder soaked in gin would still ignite.GlossarySee Navy Strength gins gin, bottled at 57% vol. in a 70 cl format. It is made in a single small-batchSmall batchProduction in small quantities per distillation run, often in a small still. The term has no legal definition.Glossary run from eleven botanicals and pure grain spirit, using the distillery's Signature London DryLondon DryA style, not a place of origin: every flavour comes from distilling natural botanicals. After distillation only water and a trace of sugar may be added, with no flavouring or colouring.GlossarySee London Dry gins recipe as its starting point.

Citrus · Dry · Spicy · Navy Strength

Juniper, spruce and cardamom are the three botanicals the producer identifies as deliberately intensified. Juniper gives the gin its dry resinousResinousAn aroma reminiscent of pine or fir resin. It is juniper's signature, due to compounds such as pinene.Glossary backbone, spruce extends that character towards fresh conifer needles, and cardamom contributes a cooler, fragrant spice. The high strength gives the palate weight and concentration. Pine and spruce arrive first, cardamom opens with measured dilutionDilutionThe water added by melting ice. In the right amount it opens the aromas and softens the alcohol; too much flattens the drink.Glossary, and a firm dry warmth carries the finish. The recipe remains focused despite its power because the leading botanicals point in the same direction rather than competing.

The bottle won High Strength Gin at the 2024 Gin Guide Awards, then Gold for High ABV in 2026, and Silver among navy gins at the 2023 World Gin Awards. Three juries, three different ways of naming the same strength. For a gin and tonic, add 4 cl to a glass filled with clear ice and use 10 cl of Indian tonic. Grapefruit peel brings a bitter citrus lift, while a small spruce tip echoes the forest-like notes.

Dilution is especially important at this strength. A few moments over ice soften the alcoholic warmth and reveal the cooler side of cardamom, while spruce remains dry and fresh. The gin can therefore carry tonic confidently, but an oversized measure would hide the detail that separates it from a merely powerful spirit.