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30th October 2018
08:41am GMT
Gin seems to be one of Ireland's favourite spirits right now. Whenever I go out, for one drink or for five, there's nothing I enjoy more than a large icy goblet filled with my beloved gin of choice.
It's so easy to say "feck it, gimme the cheapest you've got" but you know and I know, a euro or two extra and your drink will be soo much nicer.
It's time to stop being so vanilla and to try some new flavours as well as supporting an Irish company.
Yassss.
It's time to broaden gin knowledge. Next time you're out or maybe even hitting the offo, why pick out something unusual?
There's so many gins right now it can be hard to know which will suit your palette. So if you don't want to risk it for a chocolate biscuit, I got you.
I label myself as a GINfluencer, so I thought I'd start acting like one - this seems like the best way to do it.
For the next while, I'm going to pick out some bottles from my precious drinks trolley I have in my bedroom, have a drink and inform you on how it tastes, smells, looks - every little detail.
It's hand crafted and made in small batches.
It's flavour takes inspiration from the South West countryside, light and botanical.
My brother gave me a bottle of this premium gin for my birthday and I couldn't wait to try it. I whipped it out for my birthday celebrations a few nights later and really enjoyed having a fancy gin to sip on before we headed out. It was from that point that I decided I was willing to spend a few extra beans on a nice gin for special occasions.
It recently won "Best Irish London Dry Gin" at the World Gin Awards Ireland Finals.
This bottle would really stand out on a shelf.
It's black, matte and square - very out of the ordinary. With contrasting colours of yellow and white, it's super eye catching.
There's a cork cap on the top, rather than a screw cap, which I love. I get such satisfaction out of hearing that pop every time I open the bottle.
Is that weird?
The gin is produced under the watchful eye of master distillers.
It was created by three successful business people, Ernest Cantillon, Tom O’Riordan and Clodagh O’Riordan.
Ernest and Tom began as bar owners and Clodagh studied for a distilling qualification - put the three together and you get great minds who saw that gin is an ever-growing phenomenon in Ireland.
Thus, Kinsale Gin was born.
It's seems that after selling gins in their bars, the trio decided they wanted to try their hand at it. They were lucky as they had access to a ready-made market research group in their customers and suppliers.
The gin was designed to capture the flavours and aroma surrounding the wonderfully colourful maritime town of Kinsale.
They spent time researching and foraging for distinctive flavours that were indigenous to the area, which give the gin it's unique taste.
The juniper is very prominent but it still has a sweetness to it. It's a got a zing to it.
If you like a mixture of botanicals and fruity flavours, this gin would be right up your street.
There's quite a tangy smell to this gin.
Hints of lemon verbena and lemon germanium to begin and finally on to that distinctive scent of juniper.
Very fresh and fragrant.
The gin is distilled in the London Dry style so it's got that feel to it.
From the first sip, you'll get that sweet taste from the elderflower, vanilla and elderberry followed by a more bitter taste from the juniper berries.
Because Kinsale has elements of elderflower already in it, you don't need to go OTT with a flavoured tonic.
Slimline Schwepps is key when you're trying to watch your figure and you don't want to over indulge on a night out.
Wonderfully bubbly.
You'll find Kinsale Gin in 1601 off-licence in Kinsale, Carry Out off licenses and SuperValu.
They sell stun gift boxes if you're looking to buy it for someone special and I'm obsessed with the black tinge on the goblets. (I need to get them for my drinks trolley!)
You can learn more about Kinsale Gin by clicking here.
If you have a gin that you'd like me to try, leave it in the comments below and it could feature next week.
