Chilgrove Dry Gin

Chilgrove Dry Gin will rock your next craft cocktail in style.

Chilgrove Spirits is the brainchild of Christopher Beaumont-Hutchings and his wife Celia. Celia was born in The Hague to a Dutch mother and proper British father, so was exposed to both Jenevers and Gins a’plenty. They founded their small batch distillery in Chilgrove, Sussex, England — thus the name — and released their signature Gin to the masses in 2014. A year later, they added a lovely Vodka to the line up.

Chilgrove Dry Gin is a bit of a rarity in that it is not based on grain. It starts with a grape-based spirit. But back in the early days of Gin and Jenever, this was the standard. A few hundred years ago there was a protracted cold period that wrecked havoc on the grape crop. There was barely enough eaux de vie for Wine and Cognac, so local distillers turned to grain and potato.

That’s a shame, because grape spirit has a naturally richer mouth feel and a light, ethereal fruitiness that makes it shine when distilled. Chilgrove knows this and combines this rich spirit with 11 botanicals, including citrus zest, local florals, angelica root, coriander seed, grains of paradise, and wild water mint, among other bits. Any way you slice it, this Gin makes the grade with a top-notch flavour profile.

And if you are the kind that likes to count awards, this Gin has garnered six from the top shows.