Anno B3rry Pink Gin

These bluish purple berries are the basis and therefore the signature of all gins, and the prominent flavour in traditional gins. Although it has a berry-like appearance due to its fleshy skin, the juniper berry is not actually a true berry but a female seed cone from a conifer. Juniper berries have a strong and assertive pine flavour; the flavour is mostly woody, but it can have some slightly citrus and floral tones to it.

Coriander is the second most common ingredient in gin.  Although all parts of the plant are edible; the fruit or dry coriander seeds only a few millimetres in size are the part we use as a spice to flavour Anno gin.  When distilled the seeds have a warm, spicy, nutty flavour that can also combine citrus and orange notes.

Although thought similar in taste to star anise and fennel, the liquorice plant is unrelated as it is actually a legume associated to the family of beans and peas. The name liquorice was derived from the Greek word meaning sweet root, descriptive of its long lasting, mellow, sweet, woody flavour.

Seville oranges, also known bitter oranges, are used in the production of marmalade as well as in herbal medicines and as appetite suppressants. Bitter oranges have an amazingly distinctive combination of sweet, sour and bitter flavour that a normal orange lacks and they blend in astonishingly well with the other citrus notes.

The orris root is the rhizome (mass of roots) of the iris flower.  Once important in herbal medicine, orris root is more commonly used in the manufacture of perfumes for its scent which is reminiscent of violets.  It has a heavy flowery and woody flavour that helps bind the other components in the gin together.

Angelica, also known as Holy Ghost or Wild Celery, grows in many countries of the Northern Hemisphere and is often found near rivers and lakes in damp soil.  Cultivated in the 10th century as a medicinal plant, angelica’s sweetly scented edible roots add a nicely balanced earthy and floral combination to our Kent Dry Gin.

Kentish Strawberries from Clock House Farm, Coxheath.

Foraged Kentish Elderberries have a tart and slightly earthy flavour with a sweetness that is complimented well by spice flavours.

Blackberries are an ancient British favourite, foraged here for thousands of years for their sweet and tart flavour.

Cocoa balances the sweetness of the fruit and has traditionally been paired with strawberries in desserts.

Cardamom works very well when combined with orange and juniper, adding perfumed herbal notes.

Considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs in Chinese medicine Cassia is often used as an alternative to cinnamon, which is in the same family and genus.  This often leads to confusion between the two botanicals in both taste and texture.  Cassia bark adds a strong cinnamon style flavour with an extra peppery punch.