Aval Dor Christmas Gin

Fresh orange zest joins cinnamon, clove and nutmeg in the still for Aval Dor Christmas Gin. These four festive additions accompany the closely guarded Original Gin botanical recipe in a handmade copper pot stillPot stillA traditional still, often copper, that distils in batches. It keeps more texture and character than a column.Glossary, so the festive spices are distilled with the gin rather than steeped in it afterwards. This Cornish edition has a strength of 42% ABV.

Citrus · Spicy

The tasting opens with fresh orange and pine-like juniperJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary, while coriander and citrus peels give the first impression a light, bright spice. Cinnamon and nutmeg follow with balanced warmth in the middle of the palate: the cinnamon sweet and woody, the crushed nutmeg rounder and more aromatic. Aromatic clove lingers on the finish, leaving a dry, spiced close that gives the gin its distinctly seasonal character, while the orange keeps it from feeling heavy.

Colwith Farm Distillery makes its spirits from scratch on a fifth-generation family farm. It describes its approach as plough-to-bottle: every step, from the field to the finished bottle, is carried out on one estate, and this seasonal distillation is no exception.

For a long drink, fill a short tumblerRocks glassA short, heavy glass (tumbler) for a spirit over a large ice cube or a short cocktail.Glossary with clear iceClear iceIce without air bubbles, made by slow, directional freezing. Denser, it melts more slowly and dilutes less.Glossary, pour in 5 cl Aval Dor Christmas Gin and top with chilled ginger ale. Express an orange twistTwistA strip of peel twisted over the glass to release its oils, then dropped into the drink.Glossary over the glass and drop it in. The ginger ale adds a lively spiced length that meets the cinnamon and clove, while the oils from the twist echo the fresh orange zest in the still and lift the aroma. Colwith also suggests enjoying the gin neat over ice, where the clove and cinnamon come through more directly.