Apple blossom, honey from the distillery's own bees, elderflower and hawthorn blossom from its hedgerows give Silks Irish Dry Gin its signature. Boann Distillery gathers these ingredients from its family orchard and hedgerows in the Boyne Valley, home of the prehistoric monument of Newgrange, and combines them with traditional botanicals, fourteen in all. The gin is distilled by hand in small batches in a custom-built 500-litre copper pot still and reduced to 42% ABV for its 70 cl bottle.

Citrus · Floral · Fruity · Vanilla

The process is designed to treat each group of botanicals gently. The traditional ones macerate for 24 hours before a slow distillation, while the delicate orchard and hedgerow botanicals sit in a vapour-infusion chamber, where the alcohol vapour carries their aroma without boiling them. The distillate is reduced with water from the distillery's own deep well, and the gin is not chill-filtered, which preserves its natural texture and can make it turn slightly cloudy over ice, a sign of its botanical oils. The river and the distillery take their name from Boann, the Irish goddess of the Boyne.

Bright citrus and sweet florals rise first on the nose, followed by pine-like juniper.

The palate is rich and silky, with orange peel and fresh blossom around the core gin notes; apple lends a gentle fruit tone without tasting of cider. The finish is long, and the honey rounds it with a restrained, elegant sweetness.

For a long drink, lengthen it with Indian tonic over plenty of ice and add a thin slice of apple and a strip of orange peel. A small cluster of elderflower beside the glass brings the hedgerow aroma to the table. Neat or over a single ice cube, the honey and blossom notes show at their best.