Twisted Nose Premium Dry Gin – World Gin Award Winner – 70cl Gin Bottle

Product Information

This glorious bespoke gin is for the Abbotts Ann Village Stores. The shop is about 3 minutes from the watercress farm and about 10 minutes from The Gin Palace so it’s super local. I love working with other small businesses to come up with an idea for their very own gin. We chat about the story behind the business and what botanicals work with that story. It wasn’t straightforward at the Abbotts Ann shop; there were plenty of options. We discussed a village apple collection which would then be made into gin as well as the watercress which was also an obvious choice being grown so close to the shop. Samples were made and committee meetings held (rather popular committee meetings as well with the offer of gin tasting being involved!) The watercress was decided on and the rest is history!

Twisted Nose Gin takes your senses on a journey into Hampshire’s fragrant green world of watercress, crystalline chalk streams and long summer days spent at the water’s edge.The three suppliers chosen by the Hairy Bikers for their Go Local TV series have all seen a massive increase in demand following their appearance on the show last Friday. Local event: "The annual Watercress Festival - when the railway provides much of the transport into Alresford." Our Winchester Dry Gin™, launched on world gin day 2017 at the great hall in Winchester, is our tribute to our home city and was inspired by King Arthur's round table hanging in the hall.

Apart from volunteering on the railway I occasionally drive the town's community minibus and most weeks I volunteer one day for the county's Countryside Service." The result is an intense, fragrant and vibrant gin. We think it's the most refreshing gin we've ever tasted (but perhaps we're just a little biased). Anyway, that’s my Thursday ramblings! I just love bespoke products and locally sourced, fresh ingredients I couldn’t help myself! Favourite pub: " The Bell; the food is good too. But possibly the best view is from the garden of The Globe."Each part of creation and distillation is carefully considered resulting in an intensely herbaceous yet delicately floral gin, developing into spicy undertones and finishing with a peppery sparkle. Another thing I love about working with the fresh ingredients is that no batch is exactly the same. Talking to Ron at the salad farm he explained that the watercress he had just harvested was very young; the first crop. So it would have a lovely fresh vibrant taste but wouldn’t be as firey as the watercress harvested later in the season that has had time to mature. I just think that’s so interesting and wonderful. So no excuse saying you have a bottle of the gin in the cupboard – drink up and buy a new one each season for the full flavours! There’s also a cheeky bottle behind the bar here at The Gin Palace to try too if you’re popping in for a drink on a Friday or Saturday night. Dave Myers said: " A lot of the food was quite extravagant and I think we have to be realistic that it was 18 months ago and it shows what a different place we are economically in the country. I think we would have reined it in a bit with respect to the viewers."

Presented in a bespoke bottle that ripples and refracts like the surface of a stream, Twisted Nose is a vibrant celebration of provenance and place. Smooth with a surprising depth of flavour Dorset Smugglers Vodka from the Bournemouth Brewing Company distillery is made by Cristophe Mathers. After studying chemistry Cristophe became a brewer making award-winning ales at the Bournemouth Brewery. The vodka was happenstance as Cristophe explains: “A home distiller came in to see us out of the blue and asked what we did with our ullage (waste beer) at which point I gave him some and he distilled it. Voila he had created beer vodka from our old beer – and so I thought maybe I’d give it go.”A former software developer, Paul left behind his career and daily commute to London to pursue his love for gin and to become more involved in the local community. Despite living in Winchester for years, Paul felt like a visitor in his hometown and wanted that to change. Caught in glinting, swirling, blue-green glass, Twisted Nose invites you to taste with your eyes even before you’ve pulled the oak stopper to breathe in the fragrance as you pour the spirit. The taste is intensely herbaceous yet delicately floral, beginning with soft sweet citrus notes, developing spicy undertones and finishing with a peppery sparkle from the fresh watercress grown at the distillery. Nestled in the North Hampshire Downs near the quintessentially-English village of Bentley, the vineyards cover 12 acres of what were once hop fields. Favourite restaurant: "In Alton it's the Thai Boutique; in Alresford it has to be Polpo Negro for innovative tapas dishes." Favourite pub: " The Horse & Groom, a perfect location in the heart of Alresford and great for either a pint or a family meal. Plus, it has a courtyard for those warmer evenings."