BEHIND THE SCENES
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self-proclaimed ‘gin-thusiast’, I jumped at the opportunity to tour the Pickering’s Gin distillery at Edinburgh’s Summerhall. Founded in 2013 by former butler Marcus Pickering and engineer Matthew Gammell, the small batch production distillery is the capital’s first exclusive gin distillery in over 150 years and has recently started welcoming visitors through the doors. The tour starts at the venue’s Royal Dick bar, where guests are furnished with a complimentary ‘P&T’ before being led by host and distillery manager Victoria to meet Emily and Gert – two 500 litre copper stills named after the founders’ curvaceous and stout grandmothers. Bet they liked a drop or two of ‘Ladies Delight’ in their day. Pickering’s may be a relatively new gin on the market but it’s based on a ‘secret’ Bombay recipe dating back to 17 July 1947. The handwritten fragment of paper on which the original recipe is written hangs framed on the distillery wall and is eagerly snapped by the collection of tourists, bloggers and media on the tour – perhaps not so secret after all! Like all gins, one key ingredient is juniper berries (which we’re given to taste) but there are eight other botanicals in there too, namely coriander, cardamom, angelica, fennel, anise, lemon, lime and cloves, giving the gins their huge depth of flavours. Victoria talks us through the gin-making process from botanicals to bottle; the gin is macerated for 24 hours with neutral grain spirit and heated using a system built by founder Matthew. Finally, we are shown how the gin is labelled and sealed by dipping the bottle mouth into hot wax. And then comes the best bit: the taste test. It may be 4pm on a Monday but hey, it’s always cocktail time somewhere. We sample three Pickering’s gins: the 1947 original; an Edinburgh Military Tattoo special edition (housed in a tartan bottle), and an Oak Aged Speyside gin. Each gin features unique notes from herbaceous undertones to caramel fudge flavours and Victoria explains that different mixers and garnishes best compliment the different editions. Lesson learned; the lemon’s days are over. I’ll be experimenting with grapefruit, orange and ginger ale going forward. I’ll just need a few bottles of Pickering’s to help with my research…
MIDNIGHT AT
MANSFIELD HOGMANAY CEILIDH TICKETS £70 PER PERSON Includes a welcome cocktail, hearty buffet & entertainment for the night.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOGMANAY AT MANSFIELD TRAQUAIR mansfieldtraquair.co.uk/christmas-hogmanay/ mansfield@heritageportfolio.co.uk Limited availability, VIP packages available for £79.50 per person. Terms and conditions apply.
Pickering’s host guided tours and tastings on Mondays and Wednesdays-Saturdays. £10 per person. pickeringsgin.com
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