Raise a glass to St David, St Patrick and to mothers!
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March is upon us! And there’s always an excuse to raise a glass with St David’s Day, St Patrick’s Day and Mothers’ Day giving us three good reasons to be cheerful.
So let’s say adios, February – and hola to a brighter month!
St David’s Day
Forget leeks and dragons, the world of Welsh gin is what we were celebrating on March 1. And our vote goes to Jin Talog in Carmarthenshire, specialists in award winning single and twin botanical gins.
Created by two Welsh boys who returned to the homeland from London to raise rare breed sheep and make gin, the result is truly hand-crafted and small-batch – a micro-distillery based in a former cowshed with a yield of about 30 bottles per batch.
And the best bit? The online orders are beautifully packaged using wool from their rare breed Balwen flock.
£39 for 50cl at www.jintalog.wales
St Patrick’s Day
They say the whole world is Irish on March 17! So from Welsh lamb to Irish dairies, this month we recommend the first Irish Milk Gin, made in Cork. So, step away from the green beer on March 17 and pour a glass of Bertha’s Revenge – named after a Droimeann cow from Kerry and said to have been the oldest in the world when she died aged 48 in 1993.
Created by Ballyvolane Country House Hotel, this is the world’s first gin with a whey alcohol as its base, sourced from Irish dairies.
€45 for 70cl at www.ballyvolanespirits.ie
Mothers’ Day
And it’s only right to round off the Celtic celebrations with a virtual Scottish gin tasting kit. The Mystery Gin kit provides the core essentials for mum to run her own gin tasting at home!
Or order two and join her by Zoom. The kit contains: 3 x 200ml bottles of gin, each one a different brand; 3 x 200ml matching mixers; 3 x sets of tasting notes in a secret envelope; Gin Flavour Wheel score sheets; tips on recommended garnishes; and a Mothers' Day card.
£40 for a Mystery Gin Kit at www.ginclubscotland.com
- Chrissie Fairclough is tastings director for Gin Club Scotland, which runs touring and distillery-based tastings, as well as offering tasting kits for people to run their own events. www.ginclubscotland.com
