Wild Fox Distillery makes its 2026 Ivy's Orchard Summer Release with summer berries grown on its family farm in Lancashire. Bottled at 40% ABV, the release comes in a 70 cl format. This year's recipe combines blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants, with home-grown strawberries making their first appearance in the summer batch. Wild Fox says the fruit is distilled together with the botanicals using traditional one-shot distillation, rather than being sweetened afterwards with syrup or flavourings.

Dry · Limited Edition · Fruity

The berries give the aroma an immediate orchard character, with blackberry and blackcurrant bringing darker fruit notes and raspberry and strawberry adding a brighter edge. Juniper keeps the profile rooted in gin, while distilling the fruit with the botanicals gives the fruit a more integrated character than a late-added cordial. The producer describes it as crisp and refreshing, with the fruit present without added sugar. The finish stays dry enough for tonic, leaving a clean juniper note beneath the berries.

Ivy's Orchard is made as a small summer batch, drawing on the distillery's setting on a working Lancashire farm. Wild Fox's seasonal releases use fruit available from the farm and its surroundings; this 2026 recipe marks a new appearance for home-grown strawberries alongside the recurring orchard berries. The distillery describes the product as farm-to-bottle and naturally distilled. Those details explain why the berry notes lead, while the dry gin base remains evident rather than being covered by sweetness.

The producer's suggested serve is simple: plenty of ice, premium Indian tonic and fresh strawberry or a handful of berries. Add one fresh raspberry and a small blackberry directly to the glass, then pour the tonic gently to retain its carbonation. The fruit garnish reinforces the gin's summer character without adding syrup, and the dry tonic keeps the berries lively. It also works in a straightforward highball; avoid sweet mixers, which would obscure the distinction between the darker blackcurrant and the brighter raspberry and strawberry.