][1]Contrary to scurrilous rumour, the 5pm Dining blog seldom starts the day with gin.
We were happy to make an exception yesterday when we had a 9am appointment for bacon rolls, gin and a tour of the new Pickering’s Gin operation at Edinburgh’s Summerhall Distillery.
First Edinburgh gin for 150 years
Billed as the first gin to be distilled in the capital for over 150 years (the also delightful Edinburgh Gin is, for now, distilled elsewhere), Pickering’s Gin is the brainchild of Matthew Gammell and Marcus Pickering, a man whose CV includes a stint as a senior butler at Skibo Castle.
Bombay recipe
The original recipe for the gin is based on a Bombay recipe which was given to Marcus’ family in 1947. Gammell and Pickering first tried distilling their gin by strictly following the old recipe but found it rather too spicy for modern, European tastes.
After much, presumably enjoyable, tweaking, they settled on a more citrus-focused formula which is flavoured with nine botanicals including juniper (obvs), coriander, cardamom, cloves and fennel as well as dried lemon and lime.
The gin is rectified in small batches in a 500 litre still named Gert after Matthew’s grandmother. Visitors will be able to see the process in action when the distillery opens for small group tours on Thursdays and Fridays.
Pickering’s Gin is available to buy by the bottle for £29.50 at Summerhall and is also on tap in the building’s Royal Dick Bar. The pipeline runs directly from the distillery onto the bar – a mere 23 metres from still to till. More stockists will be listed on the company’s website as they come on board.
][4]G ‘n’ T ice cubes
The Pickering’s team recommend serving their gin as a double measure with a small can of Schweppes Tonic. They like to ginger it up with a stick of bashed lemongrass and (this is genius) four ice cubes made with frozen gin and tonic so as not to dilute the drink unnecessarily.
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