Why is Coastal Gin so good?
Discover the botanicals that make coastal gin so exciting to try!
Coastal gin has gained popularity among gin enthusiasts. At Tayport Distillery we are blessed to be in a beautiful coastal village and well placed to tap into ingredients sourced from the coast. Its the whole concept of bringing a taste of the coast to your glass that is the inspiration for our coastal gin developments. Tayport always strive to forage ingredients that will bring a real touch of local flavour to the Gin.
Some of the more common ingredients are forms of seaweed such as Bladderwrack, Dulse, Sugar Kelp and Carageen. Bladderwrack is the common brown seaweed you can see on the beach. Its the one with little poppers has a salty, mineral-rich flavour that can add a subtle brininess to the final product. Dulse is a red seaweed with large flat leaves and it has a slightly salty, smoky flavour that can add depth and complexity to the final product. Sugar Kelp is the one with long brown crinkly leaves and this will bring a touch of saltiness to the flavour. Carrageen is the lighter mossy looking seaweed and adds a smoothness to the spirit. Back in 2019, Tayport experimented with seaweed during the Autumn season but decided that the flavour profile was not exactly what we wanted. However we want to return to this in the near future.
Stepping out of the water and into the dunes and we find many native plants we can forage for Gin. So, rather than look in the sea for botanicals, we began back on land on the Fife Coastal Path. On our walk we were guided and discovered lots of other plants that we could use within our gin making process. Most notably, Wild Rose which was growing in abundance and not just on the Fife Coastal Path but also right outside our distillery! We had been tracking the blooming season of the wild rose and found that the climate surrounding Tayport’s harbour town was encouraging the blooming season to last from late spring to late summer, with repeat flowering.
Coastal gin tends to have a flavour profile that sets it apart from other gins. The addition of coastal botanicals gives it a stronger and more potent flavour profile. Many people who find this style of gin enjoyable are flavour enthusiasts who want to push the boundaries.
Coastal gin can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. It is delicious when mixed with tonic water, and it also makes a great base for cocktails. Some popular cocktails made with coastal gin include the Salty Dog, the Seaside Martini, and the Ocean Breeze.
The Salty Dog
This is a super easy and simple cocktail made using grapefruit juice, gin, and a salt rim. To make this cocktail, simply rim a glass with salt, add ice, pour in the grapefruit juice and gin, and stir well.
The Seaside Martini
To make this cocktail, simply combine gin, dry vermouth, and a dash of saline solution in a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary or a slice of cucumber.
The Ocean Breeze
To make this cocktail, simply combine coastal gin, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice in a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with a slice of lime.
In conclusion, coastal gin is a unique and delicious type of gin that is made using ingredients sourced from the coast. Typically the seaweed botanicals give the gin a salty, briny flavour but seaweed is not the only coastal botanical available on the coast as we discovered to create our Wild Rose Gin. Coastal gin can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, from a simple gin and tonic to a complex cocktail. So, if you want to savour the flavours of the coast in your drinks, give coastal gin a try.
