... Aaron Knoll has run The Gin Is In, a Gin review … Continuing…. The Gin Man reviews Conker gin. Free from the constraints of tradition, we’re in pursuit of the new and exciting, with a ruthless focus on quality. A lovely nose that suggests an early winter dusk in a boreal pine forest. He’s achieved this well, with the flavours meld and intertwine delicately. Overall: A wonderful take on dry gin that would shine with a helping of elderflower tonic. Summery and sweet meadow-like aromas underpin the experience, with citrus and a soft, floral sweetness holding the juniper in place. To the nose, it’s a cacophony, with everything rushing forwards at once and shouting to be heard. Forest floor with deep red jammy fruit is hard not to love and this gin teases you in to sniffing far too aggressively. ... Conker Dorset Dry Gin. The resulting distillate is at a strength of 80% ABV. It really is a beautifully captivating gin, with a rose gold hue to the colour of the liquid. Thank you for subscribing. I suppose that’s more of a snooty sommeliers’ with a dash of savvy marketeer tasting note, if it even is one, but I trust you don’t mind pardoning this meta moment. The fact that it’s high-proof turns this delicious combination into something of a weapon, because a few deep breaths in and you’ll be coughing in the corner and yet you still feel compelled to do it all over again. Receive 10% off on Gin Kiosk when you sign up too! I think Dorset Dry Gin works well in a Martini and Gin and Tonic; however, I found that the overall flavor profile works quite well across floral drinks such as the Aviation, citrus drinks like the Gimlet (especially the Gimlet) and perhaps the only thing I found it wanting in was the Negroni where the nuance was lost and all that remained was a dull juniper note. It’s made just up the road from where I was born, it’s the first/only gin distillery in Dorset, and it not only makes a tasty gin, … While it’s a fairly traditional flavour sipped neat, classicism goes out of the window once tonic is introduced. Conker Dorset Dry Gin is a refreshing and smooth gin that's full of delicious notes of juniper, warm spice and floral allure. It is all about top-notch small batch gin distilled in Dorset from British wheat spirit and New Forest Spring Water. Nicely balanced overall with a lovely green profile that suggests verdant fields and dark forests, while still highlighting a lot of traditional gin character through juniper, coriander and citrus primarily. Sign up below to get the latest news, offers and events from Gin Foundry. And we definitely want an Old Tom – how well would those elderberries work in an Old Tom? A gin that can be enjoyed neat or in the classic way with tonic. The name Conker, incidentally, was a happy accident. The labels are hand signed by Holloway, and the colours, though bright, are not jarring. But it’s no surprise that before I even write about this gin, I’ve a little soft spot for it. Adding to the usual gin botanicals, elderberry, marsh samphire and hand-picked gorse flowers give this craft gin its unique character. It’s certainly a well-presented gin and would make for a great gift for connoisseurs. Now back to your regularly scheduled review. It's perfect in this incredible G&T recipe! Angelica, juniper and elderberry at first, tart cranberry-like notes come on mid-palate as well as a particularly pronounces citrus note. Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin Review Posted by admin on July 6, 2017 August 29, 2017 We don’t know about you but we’ve been reading all sorts of studies lately that suggest that drinking gin … Dorset Dry Gin was also featured in my book Gin: The Art and Craft of the Artisan Revival, which makes a great Christmas gift. The aroma is unsurprisingly, given the intentions, overwhelmingly rich with pine and elderberry, a duo that we’ll confess to having a soft spot for here at Gin Foundry. It’s an important part of distilling (and cooking, even), as it through an ability to discern and articulate what you can taste that one vastly improves their ability to balance new recipes and ideas. Eventually, they settled upon recipe 38 (though Holloway went through 45 in total). Conker Street Gin is made from a traditional base of 10 botanicals in the London dry style (or "Dorset dry" as they would have it), familiar to gin enthusiasts for the juniper forward flavor. Holloway could work from a blank canvas, taking a sip-by-sip approach when creating the recipe for his Dorset Dry Gin. Dilution brings the jammy elderberries stampeding to the fore, with the fruits somersaulting across the tongue like a troupe of marionettes. Gin is a clear, high-alcohol drink whose flavor is created by distilling neutral grain spirit with a combination of plant extracts (botanicals), most famously juniper berries (see also Genever). £5 from every sale goes to the RNLI in a partnership that will last (and hopefully be extended thereafter) three years. This wasn’t simple a case of soaking Conker Gin in a lump of wood, rather a little tweaking had to be done. Curio Gin. Be the first to review the Drinks by the Dram Single Cracker - Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin Now back to your regularly scheduled review. The focus was only on quality. Cucumber Gin. The palate is vivid as well; however, a bit more traditional at points. It can be ... Stores and prices for 'Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin… Whilst still a proper classic gin, led by a dry Macedonian juniper heart, the subtle incorporation of the Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked New Forest gorse flowers brings bright and refreshing lighter notes to Conker.Brazenly refreshing and deftly smooth, the Dorset Dry … Lime zest and bitter orange, the finish is long with lime and cucumber notes, with a halo of coriander spice. Juniper, coriander, angelica, orris, cassia and Seville orange suggest a line up similar to any London classic, but this is livened up with lime peel which, says Holloway, “add a really nice, crisp, almost dry sweetness that balances out the very caramelised orange of the Seville orange.” The botanicals get a Dorset twist from dried samphire, elderberries and hand harvested New Forest gorse flowers, which are picked and dried in March and April to be used throughout the year. In the British countryside, school children are known to thread string through these seeds in autumn when they drop from the trees and engage in vicious battles, wherein they smash each others prized floor-treasure to pieces. That’s just what came to mind. Well-deserved awards and accolades for Conker Spirit’s Dorset Dry Gin include a gold medal in the wines, spirits and liqueurs category in the 2015 Taste of the West Awards, two stars in the 2015 Great Taste Awards and gold in the best drinks product of the year category at the Dorset … Conker Dorset Dry Gin The name conjures up images of crisp autumn walks in the English countryside, and indeed this Dorset gin is produced with local ingredients top of the list. Innovative spirits, handcrafted in Dorset's first gin distillery. It’s a smooth gin with a taste that lingers – fresh at the fore, though sweet throughout. Prior to starting the distillery he worked as a chartered surveyor, a job in which days stretched on for weeks and weeks into years. Zilch,” says Holloway. Definitely go 2:1:1 with the gin if you’re using Dorset Dry in that drink. Corner Fifty Three. A juniper led gin … Dorset Dry Gin Distilled in Bournemouth from British wheat spirit and New Forest Spring Water, the Dorset Dry is our refreshing take on a classic London Dry; 10 botanicals well-balanced and Juniper-led, with the bright and refreshing Dorset … Conker is one of England's up-and-coming gin distillers. Distilled and bottled at Dorset’s first gin distillery, Conker Gin … This has turned out a blessing, in our opinion; a quick glance at the scene five years on shows a couple of competitors – Pothecary, Lilliput – but if someone were to task us to name a Dorset Gin right off the bat, this is still the first we’d think of. This is something Holloway treated as a blessing when crafting his gin– the county is not steeped in traditions and there is no distilling heritage to stick to. Rather than money, Holloway was rich with the opportunity that comes from having no responsibilities – no children, no mortgage. We’re not alone in our fandom, either – with over 60,000 bottles sold a year and consistent five star reviews, it seems that Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin is growing a litltle army. Holloway sought the help of Summer Fruitcup’s David Smith when working on his recipe. That is to the lands around Dorset where the sea vegetable Samphire and Ulex flowers (an evergreen shrub distantly related to peas) grow wild. Learn about gin production, the history of the rise of Conker Spirit and how they landed on the final 10 botanical recipe of the Dorset Dry. The drink sits well when sipped on ice, but the very nature of its evenly-spread botanical mix means that its one you can play with. To create his higher proof offering, Holloway dropped gorse as a botanical from the recipe all together, instead deciding to increase the amount of juniper, elderberry and samphire to allow for a more classic, resinous hit. I now get to call myself ‘Head Conkerer’ as well.”. It’s green on the tongue, though the classic juniper elements are soon pushed out of the way by the elderberries, which bring a jammy sweetness and the chamomile-like gorse flower, which brings a candy-striped sugary hit to proceedings. Check your inbox and confirm the link to complete the process. As a team of friends they share a passion for creating top-class gin that embraces the botanicals that can be found growing (often foraged by the team) across Dorset's picturesque countryside. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin, 70 cl at Amazon.com. Overall, I think that the balance in this gin should make it a welcome addition to any home gin cabinet or any bartender’s craft gin arsenal. They looked at recipes together and explored the flavour journeys the gins Holloway was creating seemed to be taking. He’s determined, quietly stubborn and dead set on doing things his own way. But while others look backwards digging up ancestral and heritage recipes that give it the weight of time, Conker Spirits looks forward. Holloway sent his girlfriend Emily a message to say that he’d decided to create a gin and she replied, quite accidentally, with the word ‘conker.’ He realised it was the perfect name: “nostalgic, very British and a word everyone knows but rarely uses. An encyclopaedic and expert series of Gin reviews. A quick glance at Conker Spirit distillery owner Rupert Holloway gives you the impression that he’s the kid whose conker would win. Corinthian Gin. October 2020. We’re familiar with a London Dry gin but Dorset Dry? Cotswolds Dry Gin. A peak at Holloway’s blog shows his positivity and determination –  every hurdle back in the day was taken as a lesson, rather than an exercise in futility. Conniption American Gin. As for contemporary gins that step a bit outside the box but balance the new with the old, Dorset Dry Gin is a welcome new addition to the family. This process takes around 12 hours, and while initially Holloway was only producing 60 bottles a day, the newer kit and a higher botanical intensity means he’s able to process a few hundred per still per day. This Gin repository focuses on the stories behind Gin brands, what they taste of and how they are made. A slight twist on a classic London Dry profile, Conker Dry Gin is well-balanced and Juniper-led, but with the bright and refreshing Dorset notes of elderberries, samphire and handpicked gorse flowers adding … So a little bit of new, a little bit of local, all distilled on a base of British wheat spirit with Macedonian sourced juniper. The bottle itself is short and stout and really stands out on shelves. Conker Dorset Dry Gin – 40%ABV. It just never needed to grow up. Quite lovely. The spice, not particularly present with the original, is more fiery here and more enduring too. Gin is a clear, high-alcohol drink whose flavor is created by distilling neutral grain spirit with a combination of plant extracts (botanicals), most famously juniper berries (see also Genever). Though a little craggy around the edges now, Holloway was a fresh face in the drinks industry when Conker Gin launched. We are in pursuit of the new and exciting, with a ruthless focus on quality. Many producers are snobby about the multi-shot process, but we can’t say we ever noticed a change in quality between then and now…. For more information about Conker, visit their website: www.conkerspirit.co.uk. The Dorset Dry is a fresh approach to gin, balancing 10 botanicals the Dorset … Not just content with just making a higher proof offering,  Conker Navy Gin is also built with a charitable soul embedded into each bottle. It’s stunning, especially when served with orange peel. The distillery’s flagship offering was reduced to around 45%ABV before being added to former Port barrels (8 at a time) and left to rest for 8 weeks. Once maturation reaches its optimum moment, with the liquid taking on a fiery, caramel hue, it’s disgorged and diluted to bottling strength with water. We are Conker Spirit, Dorset’s first gin distillery. Conker Spirit Dorset dry gin, 40%, 70cl. Conker Spirit was founded in 2014 by Rupert Holloway, who traded in a career as a chartered surveyor to learn about and pursue creating a new gin; the Dorset Dry. This dry gin combines Macedonian juniper with local elderberries, samphire and gorse flowers. For those not in the know, a conker is the seed of a horse chestnut tree. The oak is clear, but it’s not tannic, rather it imposes a fruity and subtle wood note, much tamer than the flavours you’d typically get from the likes of American oak, with more of the previous occupant noticeable here than the ageing process or the charred wood. Conker Spirit was very much a one-man band operation for the first year and a half, with Holloway himself distilling, bottling and labelling his gins, as well as foraging for local ingredients. Cruxland Gin. Only one conker will emerge victorious, its owner grinning savagely through a face smeared with the entrails of lesser seeds. Once the moment passes, juniper and elderberry intermingle happily and a warming heat of cassia comes through on a dry finish. On the lips, the juniper hits at the same time as the spirit, creating a pine explosion that’s further accentuated by the vivacious nature of the lime peel, which also leaps in to makes itself known. The hearts cut is left to sit for two weeks before Holloway blends it to 40% bottling strength with New Forest spring water. Gin Bottles Alcohol Bottles Wine Label Design Bottle Design Premium Gin Gin Distillery Gin Brands Gin Gifts Gin … latest report on Consumer Taste Preferences in Gin. Conker Spirit was founded by Rupert Holloway in April 2015, launching Dorset's first gin distillery with our award-winning Dorset Dry Gin - a bright and refreshing take on a London Dry with the Dorset notes of elderberries, marsh samphire and hand-picked gorse … Conker Spirits have created a unique and intricate gin of 10 select botanicals, distilled and bottled by them at Dorset’s first gin … Conker Spirit’s Dorset Dry Gin stands in stark concept to some of the other gins in this year’s gin advent celebration. Fred came to the … He knew right away that distilling was what he wanted to do and (despite no formal qualifications) began distilling almost instantly in December 2013. For Conker Gin, the eureka moment came when Holloway realised that he couldn’t buy a local G&T, despite the fact that there are craft brewers and distillers popping up all over the country. Basically, Holloway now produces a concentrate which can be mixed with more alcohol and then watered down to bottling strength. Saved by The Pouring Spout. Clearly, it’s a well suited cask for the gin, as the two play off each other sympathetically enough for it to be recognisably Conker Gin, but with enough character to be a new experience in its own right and worthy of discovery. That’s … When he hit 29, he had what he calls “an early midlife crisis,” and decided to get out of there, deciding, quite suddenly, that he’d be “bitterly disappointed if I retire or die doing what I currently do for a living.”. It’s a great emblem of the British countryside and while to a casual observer it looks like there’s been little evolution since the start – same bottle, same flavour, same brand identity – that’s only because it launched from such a strong place. Since launching, there have been two additions to the range, with both a Cask Aged and a Navy Strength releases in the winter of 2018. Not everyone’s heard of it, but those that know it love it. Dorset’s Dry Gin. Vegetal notes emerge a bit lower, with cucumber, celery and minty notes. 185. To taste, the orange peel is the citrus that seems to have taken control of the fore, before giving way to the flavours captured during the spirit’s gentle slumber. The nose is initially a bit foresty and green, with dark boreal pine and resiny juniper notes. He soon added an old friend, Fred Gamper, to the team, and though it’s remained very much a tiny, the growing number of brilliant products (half a dozen at present, including an exquisite coffee liqueur) implies a distillery that is very much more than the sum of its parts. One year later in April 2015 the first bottle of the Dorset Dry was sold, only for Rupert’s first child, Beau, to join the world a few months later… This one-man-band wasn’t going to cut it! Cream. Initially, all of the ingredients were added, along with the base spirit and New Forest spring water, to Conker Spirits’ two 30-litre alembic copper pot stills – Aunt Fanny and Pumpkin – and left to rest for 12 hours. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Discover our blog full of gin cocktail recipes, reviews, competitions and everything you ever wanted to know about gin! Founded by Rupert Holloway in April 2014, Conker are Dorset's first gin distillery. 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