My recent existential crisis had nothing to do with the pandemic; it was all the fault of gin. When the gin renaissance began, I would get excited about every iteration, from botanicals grown on a single windswept island to crazy ingredients such as oyster shells. Although, lately, there have been too many variations to be tracked by one gin lover, however dedicated, and my passion for new gins had become tainted by my fomo in a sort of angst and tonic.
Then I met William Lowe, co-founder of the Cambridge Distillery, who had a solution. The only way to make sure that I was drinking the best gin imaginable, he said, was to imagine my very own – and get it made. It’s logical: gin is the most versatile of spirits, so why not create one perfectly suited to your taste? Bespoke gin experiences, which combine good liquor with an afternoon’s fun, are increasingly popular. Anyone who admires Portobello Road gin – and I do – can visit the Ginstitute on Portobello Road, London, where the drink was created in 2011 by a trio of professional bartenders, and try to create something you like even more.
Ian Hart also knows all about this process: he created Sacred Gin in his living room using an apparatus powered by the motor from his children’s aquarium. Hart also teaches keen amateurs how gins are created, then concocted. In both cases, attendees get cocktails to help the magic happen and a unique bottle to take home.
Still, as the only master distiller who is also a master of wine, Lowe takes the idea of personalised gin to a new level. He founded Cambridge Distillery in 2012 when, he says, he realised that “while wine is all about place, gin has historically been based on a half-dozen botanicals that could travel well and cope with heating to high temperatures”. By using vacuum distillation, which means a lower boiling point, he was able to widen the repertoire of ingredients used and by keeping each ingredient separate he could blend them in different ways to create a highly individual spirit. Nearby Lowe’s distillery, which is located in a dinky refurbished car showroom in ludicrously pretty Grantchester, we stroll through the lush green meadows as Lowe reels off the gin ingredients he sources here: hawthorn, nettles, watercress, apple blossom.
The distillery consists of a temperature-controlled tasting room, a lab where glass alembics spin mysteriously and a long, high table inset with flowers, fruit and other botanicals for the post-tasting celebration. To be considered real gin, the alcohol must be at least 37.5 per cent ABV and contain juniper; other than that you can add what you like. Over an afternoon Lowe offers an array of distillates, all lightly diluted so I don’t fall over, and grouped according to type.
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He then allies his impressive expertise on flavour with my expertise on myself. Which, it turns out, isn’t as comprehensive as I might like to think. I taste the array of liquids blind and Lowe discourages guesses because we are very suggestible creatures.
Once I have given my verdict on the botanicals, Lowe reveals what they are. It turns out that I enjoy the citrus ingredients less than I had expected and the flower flavours more. “The difference between what people like and what they think they like is massive,” Lowe says. But I know I like the two gins he then blends for me, the idea being to tweak until we have my ideal drink. Both have echoes of my favourite gin, Georgian Bay. They also seem to have a whiff of rose or violet, which I could have sworn I said I disliked. But what do I know? If you really want to understand your palate, ask Lowe.
Cambridge Distillery tailored tastings from £3,000, cambridgedistillery.co.uk; Sacred Distillery Make your Own Gin, £95, sacredgin.com; the Ginstitute Experience, £120, the-distillery.london
Five meaty, winter-warming reds
by Jane MacQuitty
2015 Château Larose Perganson, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux
Meaty cru bourgeois cabernet sauvignon-led claret, with masses of rich, gamey, fleshy cedar fruit.
£28, oldbridgewine.co.uk
2013 Domaine Lécheneaut Au Chouillet, Nuits-St-Georges, Burgundy
Mouthwatering big name red burgundy, with gorgeous ripe, juicy strawberry and tobacco leaf spice, plus a silky finish.
£41, montrachetwine.com
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2015 Cuvelier Los Andes Grand Malbec, Argentina
Beautiful bold, beefy, barrel-fermented, violet-scented and black-fruited malbec from a top spot: the Uco Valley.
£60.95, leaandsandeman.co.uk
2015 Barbaresco Paje Roagna, Italy
Seductive walk-in-the-woods barbaresco, full of lingering leafy, leather, mocha and tobacco-smoke scents.
£96, bbr.com
2018 Littorai The Pivot Vineyard Pinot Noir, California
Awesome savoury, herby, cranberry-styled pure pinot noir from northern California’s best spot, thecool Sonoma coast.
£99.99, wimbledonwinecellar.com
