Photo of
May 19, 2017

It’s no secret that here at the 5pm Food & Dining Blog we love Scottish gin. So when Fife’s Darnley’s Gin invited us to an evening showcasing their new gin range at The Spiritualist we were there before you could say juniper.

Darnley’s Gin

The evening had been organised to celebrate the rebranding of what was previously Darnley’s View to Darnley’s Gin. The new named gin comes with new packaging featuring hand drawn illustrations of the botanicals. Darnley’s have also added a third gin to their portfolio, with Darnley’s Spiced Gin “Navy Strength” joining Darnley’s Original Gin and Darnley’s Spiced Gin.

Darnley’s Gin have lots to celebrate at the moment. As well their rebranding and Navy Strength launch, they are also opening a new gin distillery this summer based in a cottage next to their whisky distillery at Kingsbarns in the East Neuk of Fife. Their gin is currently distilled in London but production will move north of the border when the new plant opens.

The Spiritualist Glasgow

Darnley’s invited us to The Spiritualist in Glasgow’s Miller Street to enjoy their gin with some food pairings created by restaurant.

The uber chic art deco setting of The Spiritualist on Miller Street provided the ideal location to showcase Darnley’s Gin in style.

Here’s what we drank and dined on.

Darnley’s Gin paired with food from The Spiritualist

We kicked off the evening at the bar with a cocktail specially created by The Spiritualist for the event. It was called “A View Of The Port” and contained Darnley’s Spiced Gin, Ruby Port, fresh lemon juice, homemade cinnamon syrup and cranberry and orange relish and was served over crushed ice and garnished with fresh berries, orange peel and mint. It was delicious, fruity and moreish.

 

Then we made our way over to the dining area for the gin and food pairings. First, Darnley’s brought out their Original Gin which was paired with Scottish smoked salmon with elderflower and lemon cream cheese roulade created by The Spiritualist. Darnley’s Original Gin has six botanicals: juniper, coriander seed, lemon peel, elderflower, angelica root and orris root and has floral, citrus notes. The elderflower and lemon in the salmon dish complimented the botanicals perfectly.

Next, Darnley’s served their Darnley’s Spiced Gin which contains ten botanicals: juniper, nutmeg, ginger, cumin, coriander seed, cinnamon, cassia, grains of paradise, cloves and angelica root. The gin has a warm, spicy feel and was paired with a Darnley’s Spiced Gin and brambles jelly dessert and cinnamon madeleine.

Last on the menu was Darnley’s new gin, their Navy Strength, which references a tradition where navel ships’ officers would enjoy a daily ration of gin which had to pass a gunpowder test to prove it was over 57% alcohol and therefore “Navy Strength”. The gin uses the same botanicals as Darnley’s Spiced Gin with more juniper and an increased proof for intense warming spice flavours. To complement the gin, The Spiritualist served pan seared saddle of highland venison which was cooked in a sauce made from the Navy Strength Gin and juniper and garnished with pomegranate seeds.

20170508_195852

It was a very enjoyable evening sipping Scottish gin with delicious good. The Spiritualist can be booked on 5pm dining with an offer of £13.95 for 2 courses and all the Darnley’s Gins can be bought on their online shop and independent drinks specialists such as Majestic Wine.