Uncorking a bottle of Da Mhile seaweed gin is like stepping into a thermal spa. The heavy herbals confused me a bit - was that lavender, pine, rosemary or thyme I was smelling? Maybe a bit of all of them. It's a thermal spa by the Welsh coast, in a pine forest, on an uncharacteristically warm day. I wasn't sure whether to drink it or bathe in it. Well, for a moment perhaps, then I considered the cost of the bottle and poured the gin into a glass rather than into my bath. Here's what Da Mhile distillery says about this gin:
Launched on 1st of March 2014 (St David's Day) this seaweed gin is made with a cut-down, hand selected variant of botanical's added to our small batch gin. Designed to complement seafood it is infused with handpicked seaweed from the Celtic coast for three weeks, giving it a lovely green hue before being triple filtered and bottled.
The taste of this gin more than measured up to its fragrance. It is excellent on its own, being not too sweet and having a warmth that lends itself to sipping. It makes a fabulously interesting Martini (add a sprig of Rosemary instead of an olive), but I did find that tonic water diluted the flavours and aromas too much, and made it taste more like a 'normal' gin, which this is anything but!
It's more of a special occasion gin than an everyday one, but I'm left hankering for more. I had a bottle of Bombay Sapphire after it, and found that was a very nice gin, but just...gin. No explosion of my senses. I'm definitely ejoying the more unusual gins these days, such as the Opihr that I reviewed a short time ago. Da Mhile is an exciting gin, and we could all do with a bit of excitement every now and again, even if it's just for our tastebuds. Life's too short to be ordinary.
Da Mhile can be ordered online at the distillery website, and is available in 5, 35 and 70cl bottles. Go on, try one!
Sounds intriguing! I drink manzanilla sherry with seafood; it's made in a seaside town and so has a touch of salt. Never thought of trying gin with seafood, though...
ReplyDeleteI have never tried manzanilla sherry with seafood, thanks for the tip Mim! x
DeleteMy favourite tapas bar in Seville occasionally does a big plate of shell-on prawns plus half-bottle of extremely chilled manzanilla. There's salt on the prawns so you season them as you shell them, and with the sherry - heavenly!
Delete(El Toboso, in the Barrio Santa Cruz. If you ever go to Seville, it's the best!)
That sounds delicious. I love anything food or scent (perfumes, candles, air fresheners, etc) that has deep, rich, complex herb and/or woodsy notes.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
'gin review' are words that should pop up on my bloglovin more often! For some reason this reminds me of some cough meds I was takking rescently that was flavored with rosemary, completely confused my brain! A girl at work recently had a chocolate gin, personally I am more of a vidka girl, but I am sure I can be swayed ;p
ReplyDeleteHa, I will try and get a vodka review in as well for you Kariss! x
DeleteI have been on a serious gin kick lately. I have to look around for something fun and distinctive like this for making summer night tipples, it sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteThere are some amazing ones coming out of small distilleries - be sure to let me know of any you try that you'd recommend! x
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