Gin & Chocolate Tasting with Edinburgh Gin

18:35
March 12, 2023

PR invite // All thoughts and opinions are, of course, my own.

I’m sure there’s many of you that have already heard of Edinburgh Gin. They’ve had great success since they started up in 2010 and it’s their Rhubarb & Ginger Gin that seems to have taken the world by storm. They offer a variety of gins from flavoured and neutral navy strength to gin liqueurs, so there’s something for everyone. What I really like in particular is that their gins never seem to have an artificial taste, but often feel fresh and natural. Their elderflower gin liqueur was one of the first bottles I bought for my home bar when I’d moved to Edinburgh in 2015 and it’s still a favourite of mine.

The Edinburgh Gin & Chocolate Tasting

The current Edinburgh Gin Distillery is hidden underneath the Ghillie Duh/Kyloe corner right by the west end of Princes Street and shares a venue with gin bar Heads & Tales. It’s a cosy little space, and the stills sit right behind a glass wall that can be admired from the bar. Something exciting that’s coming soon is their new distillery over by Waverley Train Station and The Arches, which I’m very much looking forward to seeing once it’s finished.

The tasting takes place in the bar and you sit down by a table with a view toward the stills. After an introduction you also get to have a look inside the still room and hear more about their production. I don’t have any photos from our time in there as no cameras or phones are allowed. They have two stills – named Flora and Caledonia. The latter is a Lomond still and they use them to make different types of spirit. We had the lovely Adele as our tour guide, who had a great balance of humour and knowledge which kept everyone entertained.

When we returned to the main room we had three samples sitting in front of us. Each paired with a chocolate from Coco Chocolatier. We started with the Seaside Gin, followed by the Cannonball and finally the Lemon & Jasmine Gin. The chocolate pairings were really interesting, and besides being seriously tasty they also brought out the character of each gin so much more. The Navy Strength Cannonball Gin for example, has three types of pepper in it – one being Sichuan peppers – and the first note I got when trying it with the chocolate was a chilli-esque spice. Out of these three the Lemon & Jasmine gin was my favourite, but the Seaside and chocolate pairing suited me the best. There were also Mediterranean and Light Tonic from Fever Tree on the table as well as grapefruit and lemon peel and Adele told us about what pairings to go for. For the Lemon & Jasmine we could pick between both tonics depending on whether we wanted to enhance the zesty lemon flavour or the floral jasmine.

But this is not all, after the first three samples we moved to one of the little “caves” for our last two drinks. One Gin & Tonic with their signature gin and a Prosecco with Pomegranate & Rose liqueur. I’ve realised the flavoured gins are probably my favourite range from Edinburgh Gin, but the liqueurs are lovely to use for cocktails, as a sweeter gin & tonic, highballs, chilled over ice or in sparkling wine. Just make sure to don’t mix them up as there’s a difference in abv! The cocktails were also paired with two different chocolates.

Adele told us about some of their more special releases, and one to keep an eye out for if you like coconut is the Gorse Gin which can only be bought in Edinburgh Castle, and they’ve also released a gin inspired by Edinburgh which has the taste of chippy sauce. Sounds odd, I know – but now I’m intrigued!

At the moment Edinburgh Gin does have some trouble to keep up with demand, primarily because they don’t have a way to speed up bottling as the bottling hall is shared with loads of other brands. But there’s still plenty of option in their shop on Hanover Street which I’ve written more about below. The venue also has a little gin shops, but it’s very small indeed.

The Edinburgh Gin shop on Hanover Street

Edinburgh Gin also have a cute shop on Hanover Street in central Edinburgh where you can find their bottles and sample before you buy. Well worth a stop if you want to pick up a bottle for yourself as a souvenir or perhaps as a gift for someone.