My gin for St. George’s Day: Manchester’s Thomas Dakin Gin

April 21, 2017

let’s begin

It was about 18 months ago that this fine gin from Greater Manchester was launched; describing itself as "a classic style juniper-led gin" and whose namesake created the world’s first quality English gin and founded the world’s oldest gin distillers in 1761, so why am I so enthralled by it? Read on.

I recently moved to the north of England from West London, and now reside in Poynton, about 30 minutes from Manchester City Centre, so am gradually getting more and more involved in the local bar and spirits scene, and having tasted Thomas Dakin at the London launch in 2015, I have made it a staple ever since.

Buy now

Before we go on, and once you read this and see the YouTube review I’m sure you’ll agree you should probably pick up a bottle, so make sure you do via this link – no affiliate marketing here, just the best price for you to pick up an awesome bottle of gin: click here.

The bottle

The first thing I love about this gin is the bottle; an embossed and squared off tinted in grey smoked glass with bold red labels; it really stands out and harks back to a time long gone where producers sought to stand out through small design tweaks available to them at the time.

The GIN

In their words, “Thomas Dakin Gin is distilled in small batches in a baby copper pot still. The Master Distiller uses a secret recipe of eleven botanicals, including some traditionally used for making cordials in the 18th Century, as well as juniper, orange peel and English coriander with the unique addition of red cole to give the gin its long, lingering finish. Horseradish, or red cole as it was known in Dakin’s day, was used to revive weary travellers journeying by coach and horses from London to Scotland“.

Now the design features of the bottle make even more sense; red cole is essentially how I see the bottle with its smokiness and red accents, although maybe I’m looking into it a little too much?

In case you were wondering, Thomas Dakin Gin is currently distilled at the world’s oldest gin distillers in Warrington, Cheshire. Thomas Dakin Distillers is committed to building a gin distillery in Manchester in the near future.

The TASTE

As a juniper-led gin, I was expecting a lot of juniper on the nose and resulting flavour, but what I was not expecting was how well integrated it was with a triumvirate of citrus notes; orange, lemon and lime, so refreshing. Spicy, but not overly, when tonic is added this gin is truly refreshing and immensely quaffable…

For a premium tasting gin, with a lovely bottle design and a solid brand aesthetic I would have expected to pay more than £29.00 per bottle, a bargain in the premium gin world? You’ve just found one.

Remember the link from earlier? Well, now I’m sure you really need it so click here to buy this fabulous bottle of gin.

Thanks to Thomas Dakin Gin for sending the sample bottle, now… where’s the sunshine to enjoy one or few more… here’s my YouTube review…

You can watch my YouTube review below:

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Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.