Hedgerow Spirits Dry Gin, 42% ABV, 70 cl Bottle

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For our classic Hedgerow Gin we use juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root & orris root, but then we also add locally foraged nettle leaves, rosehips, crab apples, elderflower, sloe stones and wildflower hay. It’s no secret that Autumn is my favourite time of year. The delightful cosiness that seems to envelop every waking moment - frosty mornings, leaves tumbling from trees, the return of your best woollen jumpers, and the glorious smell of woodsmoke clinging to the evening air. We often talk about terroir when it comes to wines – that undefinable sense of place that you can taste with a sip, but can the concept apply to a home-grown spirit such as gin? 'Grapes have been cultivated and domesticated over thousands of years to the point where varieties are so consistent that factors in the terroir are important' explains Mike. 'In contrast to wine, gin and sloe gin are relatively modern products and have not had the same cultural processing! The grains used to make the spirit and the botanicals are so commoditised that for a small business like us it's hard to take control. So, we can only really talk about the terroir of our hedgerow botanicals used in our gin and the fruit we use to make our liqueurs.' Cooper King Distillery, near York, unite state-of-the-art vacuum distillation with the traditional copper pot method to produce a gin which has “incredible savoury lemongrass flavours, a silky mouthfeel and delicate floral notes.” The act of foraging still feels like a slightly political act from the folk at Sloemotion, a craft distiller who insist on keeping ingredients as natural and local as possible in an increasingly saturated (and not always quality-led) 'craft' spirits market.

For those who prefer a flavoured gin, our Hedgerow Rhubarb and Raspberry Gin is a popular choice. We take pressed Yorkshire Rhubarb juice and blend it with our Hedgerow Gin and gently infuse it with Raspberries. Despite the fruitiness, this is still a very dry gin. The favourite from this particular brand is their Lavender Edition, which promises dry lavender notes on the nose and candied lavender on the palette. After distillation, our gins, vodkas and liqueurs are blended with purified water to achieve the perfect flavour and ABV. Our distillation and steeping processes (for our liqueurs) are a true labour of love, and it is this care and attention to detail that sets our products apart; you can taste it in every sip. The Ingredients – Foraged Botanicals for Unique Flavours

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The Little Red Berry Company are a multi-award winning company based near Ripon. They have been producing alcoholic liqueurs and flavoured gins since 2011 when they took their first Yorkshire gins to Otley Show for locals to sample. We are very proud to have been named one of the best gin distilleries in the UK by numerous publications, including The Gin Guide. Our commitment to using foraged ingredients, eco-friendly distillation and traditional steeping methods has earned us a reputation for producing some of the best spirits in the UK.

The Spirit of Masham distillery is owned by Cork and Cases and located on a small business park just outside Masham. It is open to the public so visitors can learn about the gin-making process and see the copper alembic still, which is used to create their “Spirit of Masham Gin”. This gin makes a lovely gift for Christmas (if you can bear to give it away). Strain the gin and remove the fruits when it’s ready, then pour the gin into bottles for further storage or gifting. The first batch of gin from the Harrogate Tipple Distillery was released at RHS Harlow Carr in October 2016. Originally produced in an old Smokehouse in the centre of Harrogate, Premium Harrogate Gin is now distilled at Harrogate Tipple’s new distillery on the Ripley Castle Estate.

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For every bottle of gin they sell, 1 square metre of native English woodland is planted through their Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust partnership. That alone is a great reason to buy a bottle of their Gin (as if the beautiful bottle isn’t reason enough!) and they recommend that you try it neat before adding your mixers! Surprise! I have made a (tentative) return to YouTube, I hope you like this slow homemaking video. It’s somewhat different to what I have uploaded in the past, but in this current season of life, I thought it would be nice to take you along with me as I go about my homemaking days rather than stress out about making content that requires me to pull my focus away from home. Litre of Gin (use a plain or flavoured variety depending on your personal preference). Vodka can also be used as a substitution. York Gin Cocoa is distilled using cocoa beans from York Cocoa Works to give it a unique and intensely satisfying flavour along with the unmistakable aroma of chocolate. A wonderfully fitting tribute to York’s history of chocolate production. When I graduated with a PhD in Chemistry, I knew I wanted to put my skills to good use, but cajoling exotic and often toxic chemicals in the lab eventually lost it’s appeal. With my growing desire to work more closely with nature a new path was forged.

The botanicals used in creating Hedgerow Gin come from the hedgerows in our rural area of North Yorkshire, however they are all wild. Rosehips and crab apples are added for a mellow, fruity dryness, with elderflower and nettle leaf providing sweet floral notes. We also hand cut hay from our own species-rich 'micro-meadow' at Green Farm as well as from a local nature reserve - this had just the right composition of species to get the flavours we wanted.' They describe the spirit as being a blend of traditional botanicals “with more delicate infusions of Elderflower, Dandelion and Pink Grapefruit. Harvest is here too, and while those who grow their own are pulling parsnips, and farmers bringing in crops sown long ago, nature too effortlessly feeds the hungry, both sparrow and son of man, without any expectation of money changing hands. Autumn is truly a gift. How to make Hedgerow Gin with Sloes and Damsons Whittaker’s Gin is produced by the family-run, Harrogate Distillery, on Harewell House Farm in Nidderdale. The artisian, small-batch gin uses naturally-sourced water from their own land, along with local Hawthorne Berries and Bog Myrtle.

Can a gin express terroir?

Raisthorpe Manor were famous for their liqueurs way before they started to produce and sell their Raisthorpe Distilled Dry Gin. They made homemade Raspberry Gin Liqueur from their country kitchen and served it to guests at Raisthorpe Flyers. The first frosts hadn’t yet arrived, so I decided to wash, and then freeze all the fruit for a later date. I had Sloe Gin on my mind, and today was the day to start preparing what I can for Christmas. We are proud to be a member of the Gin Guild, an organisation that represents the highest standards of gin distillation and promotes the appreciation and knowledge of gin. Our membership in the Gin Guild is a testament to our dedication to producing the best gin possible. You can drink your Hedgerow Gin (young), this Christmas, but it’ll be even better if matured and left until next year. Whichever option you choose is up to you! Welcome to Sloemotion Distillery, based in beautiful North Yorkshire in the UK. For 20 years we have been using locally foraged ingredients and a wealth of knowledge to create unique and flavourful gins, vodkas and liqueurs that are loved by drinks enthusiasts across the country.