1919 Pink Gin

1919 Distilling looked to the old naval pairing of gin and bittersBittersHighly concentrated bitters (Angostura, orange…), added in dashes to season a cocktail.Glossary, not to sweet fruit liqueurs, when it created its dry Pink GinPink ginToday, a gin flavoured and tinted pink (red fruit, rhubarb…). Originally, plain gin with a few dashes of Angostura bitters.Glossary. 1919 Distilling makes it with raspberries and locally grown strawberries, which give it its colour and its berry aroma, and bottles it at 41% ABV. The distillery's name recalls 1919, the year New Zealand voted down prohibition in a close referendum. Despite the colour, the style stays dry from the first sip to the last.

Spicy · Floral · Fruity

The nose is fresh, with ripe berries rather than confectionery: strawberry softens the aroma and raspberry adds a sharper, tangy edge. The fruit is immediately recognisable on the palate, but the gin stays dry, as the distillery promises. A subtle spice appears early and keeps the berries in check, and the finish brings a gentle, lingering berry note without stickiness. Juniper sits quietly underneath as an anchor rather than the main voice. That restraint is what separates it from the sweeter pink spirits on the shelf, and it keeps the gin present once mixed. Served well chilled, the berries taste fresher and the dryness is easier to notice.

1919 suggests it as a long drink for a hot summer's day, with plenty of tonic and a handful of frozen berries, which chill the glass while adding colour. It also works in a Clover ClubClover ClubGin, lemon, raspberry syrup and egg white, shaken until it foams.Glossary or a BrambleBrambleA cocktail created in London in the 1980s: gin, lemon and sugar over crushed ice, drizzled with blackberry liqueur.Glossary, where the raspberry meets lemon and a touch of sweetness. Frozen berries also release a little juice as they thaw, colouring the drink as it sits.

For the long drink, fill a balloon glassCopa glassA large stemmed balloon glass, popularised by the Spanish gin and tonic: it stays cold for longer and gathers the aromas above the drink.Glossary with ice, add 4 cl of 1919 Pink Gin and pour in 10 cl of Double Dutch Elderflower Tonic. Stir lightly, then garnish with fresh raspberries and a thin piece of lemon peel. Elderflower softens the berries without hiding them, and the lemon lifts the finish.