G1 takes its flavour solely from distillation, which makes it a true London Dry Gin and has none of the colour or sugar often found in flavoured gins today. Instead, it features the heartsease flower, alongside a good punch of juniper, a zing of pink grapefruit zest and a veritable support act of 5 other botanicals, resulting in a London Dry Gin packed with flavour!
The heartsease flower’s natural aroma highlights the complex flavours within the gin and offers citrus, peppery, delicately floral and soft, sweet flavours. It also makes a brilliant and striking garnish. Other great garnishes you might consider are grapefruit zest on its own or coupled with a sprig of rosemary. If you like spice then try a scattering of green cardamom pods.
But why the heartsease in particular? This was inspired by my late Mum, Chrissy, who spent much of her time painting wild flowers, her favourite of which was the heartsease. Sadly, Mum died in 2000 from a sudden heart attack. The bottle is decorated with the silhouette of one of Mum’s paintings, which was painted whilst we were on a canal boat holiday when I was around 7.