Steeplechase Best Mate Blush Gin

Two miles from Cheltenham Racecourse, the home of jump racing, Steeplechase Distillery works from Montpellier Arcade in the heart of the town. Adam Mitchell, a chemistry educator, founded it in 2020, and the racing heritage of Cheltenham runs through the range, from The Thoroughbred 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 to this blush gin named after Best Mate.

Dry · Spicy · Floral · Fruity

Best Mate was one of the great steeplechasers: the horse never finished outside the top two in any race on the way to three Cheltenham Gold Cups. The gin that carries the name is a small-batchSmall batchProduction in small quantities per distillation run, often in a small still. The term has no legal definition.Glossary pink ginPink ginToday, a gin flavoured and tinted pink (red fruit, rhubarb…). Originally, plain gin with a few dashes of Angostura bitters.Glossary at 40% ABV, naturally flavoured and coloured with raspberries, redcurrants and hibiscus on a traditional dry ginDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins base. The distillery describes it as juniper forwardJuniper-forwardA classic profile where juniper clearly dominates, with resinous, piney notes.Glossary, with the freshness of red fruits and a hint of spice.

The fruit is used at two stages. According to the distillery, the spirit first steeps for 24 hours with juniper, coriander, raspberries, blackberries and hibiscus before being distilled with grains of paradiseGrains of paradiseWest African seeds related to cardamom, also called melegueta pepper: peppery and warm, with a citrus note.Glossary, which bring the peppery note. After distillation, the gin rests for three more days with raspberries and redcurrants, which give it its blush colour and a natural sweetness. No artificial colouring or flavouring is added, so the colour may fade in sunlight over time, without any effect on quality or flavour.

The distillery itself took the Distillery of the Year 2025 title in The Gin Guide Awards, and it works with 40-litre and 20-litre copper alembic stills. Pale pink and fruit-led, Best Mate works best with a light tonic that leaves the red fruits in front. A few fresh raspberries and a small cluster of redcurrants repeat the two fruits of the final steep, and generous ice holds the hibiscus acidity crisp. Stored away from direct light, the bottle keeps its colour longer.