Style: January 13, 2021

58 Style | Drink
Tickled pink
Give your G&Ts a little colour this summer.
Words Kate Preece
There’s a fine line between a balanced blush
of berry and something that has you
remembering the raspberry cough mixtures that
plagued your youth. If you are a sweet tooth, you
might not agree with my suggestions, but if
you’re looking for the gin world’s answer to a summer
rosé, then boy do I have the hue for you.
Straight shooter
Now, I’m not averse to sipping gin
straight, but it’s not what I would call my
preferred serve. However, Edinburgh
Gin’s Bramble & Honey has proved it’s
not just the sloe gins that can be sipped
pleasantly sans soda. I sat in the sun with
a friend, acutely aware that the ruby-red
drop is 40% alcohol, and yet watching
it vanish from both our glasses. Not
sweet, its ‘bramble’ notes are all about
dark berries, and our chatter about wild
boysenberries picked from roadsides
matched what was coating our tongues.
The honey is not at all overpowering,
giving a parting nod at the end. When
my friend left with the bottle, I knew I
needed my own.
Rhubarb sticks
I discovered a new Curiosity Gin
favourite when on The Spirits
Workshop Distillery Tour recently, and
it goes by the name Ruby. Pretty in
pink, it’s all about fresh Ōtaki rhubarb
flavours that sit well with a good tonic.
A seriously good summer sipper, it
slinks down with ease.
Drinking now
Golden Bay brand Dancing Sands has turned
traditional gin on its head – think Chocolate
Gin and Wasabi Gin, for starters. Now, they’re
tempting winos into the spirit world. Sauvignon
Blanc Gin is all the good things about the Kiwi
favourite, without that gooseberry tang.
Pop the top and the grapes are there from sniff
one. It was a refreshing mouthful void of that
tell-tale tartness, but it held true to apple and
lime deliciousness. Unlike anything else in my gin
cupboard, it is so much more than a one-trick
pony. (FYI: Their Sun-Kissed Gin, with strawberry
and rhubarb, is another summer stunner.)
A little pink
Those Reeftonites have been at it again,
adding another dollop of intensity into
the Little Biddy brand with Pink. It’s the
blueberry and tayberry (a blackberryraspberry
cross) that turn up the
volume on what remains that true-toform
botanical-rich base. I could pick
out the liquorice and still gain a spicy
hit off this one, which peculiarly had me
thinking about hot cross buns. Less light
and more serious, it would be a great
one for when the sun has disappeared
but the summer vibe lives on.
Dear Doris
Smelling like a crumble straight out
of the oven, The Bureaucrats Black
Doris Plum is all fruit. For those who
prefer their gin with soda, you might
be converted here as it was tonic that
made this sipper sing.