It’s all about GIN.

From Hoxton hipsters to elegant ladies who lunch, gin is the current tipple of choice. Last year sales of the spirit soared with Brits buying over 40 million bottles.  With 40 new distilleries opening in the UK alone, each with their own secret recipe, the new shape of gin is that of variety. Whether enjoyed with tonic (once the stalwart and saviour of the British Empire to warn off malaria) the use of varied botanicals means today it is also being heralded as a drink taken neat or as a complex base for cocktails. From herbal and fruit flavours to seaweed and sake infusions, gin’s diversity is most definitely the key to its charm.

Originally the gin craze hit London during the 1700s as the go-to tipple for the masses but The Gin Act made gin prohibitively expensive; riots broke out and the law was openly broken. In the 19^th century Gin Palaces appeared and it began its ascent into high society. Now, with credible provenance, innovative packaging and pronounced flavours, gin is once again the drink du jour. A symbol of our love affair with this appealing drink, last year saw the opening of the first ever Gin Hotel in Notting Hill - The Distillery, with its very own Ginstitute, where you can create your very own blend of gin, amongst other things.

Here are a few of our favourite gins – many of these are produced locally to Goodwood and all of them can be tasted at The Kennels as part of our fabulous Gin Trolley experience or simply as a drink in their own right. 

Chilgrove Dry Gin

Just on the edge of the Goodwood estate, at the foot of the South Downs, Chilgrove Dry Gin is the first (and only) British gin to be made using a neutral spirit base distilled from grapes. This was the original method employed by the Dutch prior to the ‘Little Ice Age’, which knocked out their source of grapes in the mid sixteenth century. This base does not give the gin a grape flavour, but instead an incredibly smooth, elegant style. Distilled using 100% natural mineral water filtered through the surrounding chalk Downs, it is infused with hand-picked juniper from the local area.

Master distiller, Charles Maxwell has gin in his blood, his great grandfather was a member of the Worshipful Company of Distillers in the 1680s and since then the family has been distilling gin. He describes Chilgrove as “a big, powerful, complex gin with a refined and elegant taste.”

Perfect partner: Lime, syrup and soda water ‘Tom Collins’ with a twist

Brilliant Gin

A gin dreamt up by long-time connoisseurs who wanted to create something a bit different – this powerfully flavoured gin is smooth enough to drink on its own. Creator Gail Woolston says “We knew just what we wanted and worked for a year with a distilling chemist to produce our own recipe.  A gin that really stands up for itself.”  Distilled at Thames Distillers, using only the very best botanicals sourced from around the world, it has won three medals in the International Wine and Spirit Awards: a truly outstanding gin.

Perfect Partner: Chunks of ice and a squeeze of fresh grapefruit

Gordon Castle Gin 

Handcrafted using Highland herbs from the Moray Walled Gardens at Gordon castle (where the Dukes of Richmond used to escape for the summer and spend weeks shooting and fishing) this Scottish gin has a clean palate, with subtle notes of lavender and garden mint. Rich yet refreshing it harbours warming herbal notes.

Perfect partner: A dry martini with a twist of lemon

Saffron Gin at Gabriel Boudier

This well-known French distillery has been making liqueurs since 1874 and this particular gin is based on an old recipe buried deep in Gabriel Boudier’s book collection, which highlighted a clear lineage between the history of gin and the widespread use of saffron – the saffron does not stand out but has more of a lingering buttery flavour with a subtle spice.

Perfect partner: On the Rocks, or as an Old Fashioned with sugar and soda.

Sipsmith VJOP gin

Sipsmith, the brainchild of two childhood friends, was the first copper pot distillery to open in London for over 200 years – their small-batch gin uses modern technology with traditional recipes and techniques for a gin of excellent quality. Their VJOP is big, bold and unashamedly junipery for those that love a strong juniper flavour.

Perfect partner:  A classic G&T

Warner Edwards Rhubarb Gin

Made using a crop of rhubarb originally grown in the kitchen garden of Buckingham Palace during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The rhubarb juice is extracted using a traditional fruit press and blended with Harrington Dry Gin to produce an alluring pink gin that is voluptuous on the palate with a sweet and tangy royal rhubarb explosion.

Perfect partner: Ginger Ale