Apologies for the slow posting recently, I don’t have a reason for it other than that I’ve been working hard recently and have been struggling to remember to get these ready each week. But I finally got this post done! Enjoy!
Wither’s Gin is a distillery I’ve had an interest in for the better part of a year now, after having talked with it’s founder, Sarah Withers, all the way back in March. Back then I was just eager to get in the alcohol industry and was looking to see who was willing to help out locally. Little did I know in this case help was going to come to me!
Sarah reached out for a chat to see how they could help me with my journey, and I asked for two things: A chance to get hands on with a still, and perhaps, down the line, a chance to work for them. I got my first request shortly after thanks to their gin school program (which is really good by the way), but the job request was one I would need to wait a bit longer to see come to fruition.
Back in September whilst I was on my tour, Sarah reached out again asking if I wanted to help out around the distillery in the run up to Christmas, and I happily accepted! For weeks I had a hand in making almost every spirit that Wither’s offers, and as a result I got very familiar with all of Wither’s products! As thank you for my work I got gifted one of every product they offer, which was incredibly generous!
Now, I’ve wanted to make a post on Wither’s for a while, however now that I have all the product to do so I feel it may be biased to post detailed reviews of every product, as both you as a reader and me as a writer can’t be entirely sure I’m being honest due to how closely I worked with this distillery. But, I have a compromise! As I have tried all their products, I wrote out my 5 favourite products that Wither’s produces, explaining briefly why I like them so much. But first, what do they offer?
Withers Gin offers 13 products as of me writing this: Dry Gin, Flavoured Gin, Spiced Rum and Vodka.
Dry gin:
- G1: The one that started it all; creamy, floral and earthy.
- G-Force: A stronger version of G1; clean, herbal and surprisingly mild.
- I’ll Remember You: Wither’s first collaboration with the D-Day Darlings; Poppy seeds, nutty and surprisingly sweet.
- Victorious: Wither’s second collaboration with the D-Day Darlings; Earthy pine, pastry and dried berry skin.
- Derby: A mix of cooling herbs, spices and a creamy bitter fruit.
Flavoured gin:
- GT: Dry gin infused with Darjeeling tea; mild earthy pine, complex floral notes and tastefully bitter citrus.
- G-R&R: Raspberry and rose flavoured gin; Juicy, sweet and incredibly smooth.
- G-Shot: A stronger blackberry and heartsease gin liqueur; Complex brambles and floral notes.
- G-Star: Gingerbread flavoured gin; Strong gingerbread, evokes the Christmas spirit.
- G-Zest: Spiced orange flavoured gin; Juicy mandarin, cooking spice, not too intense overall.
Spiced Rum:
- Wither’s Spiced Rum: A very sweet, slightly earthy spiced rum.
- Wither’s Honey Spiced Rum: A nuttier, honey flavoured version of the standard spiced rum.
Vodka:
- Wither’s Vodka: Standard unflavoured vodka, not much else to add.
So, with that all being said, which are my favourites? Let’s count it down:
5th Best: G-Zest
While on the surface this is quite an unassuming liqueur, G-Zest actually really tickles my fancy. The smell of orange and ginger is tastefully done, and the taste of strong mandarin and cooking spice, while a bit sweet for me, is also pretty decent. The party piece for this gin is how authentically juicy it is; I could practically picture myself biting into an orange as I drank. For that alone I find it quite a nice liqueur.
4th Best: G-Shot
One of the gins with the clearest vision of what it wants to be, G-Shot was one I fully expected to enjoy going in, and boy was it good. The smell can only be described as a bramble bush; fruit, thorns, branches, the whole nine yards. The taste is sweet, but complex blackberry and floral notes all the way to the finish. It does exactly what it sets out to do. Though, having said that, I know for a fact that this dram was designed to be drank neat. While nice neat, for once I think it’s better with a mixer as it really opens up the complex palate to be fully enjoyed.
3rd Best: G-Force
Being not only a substantially stronger dry gin than the others on offer, but merely a stronger variation of a different gin in the line-up (G1 to be specific), G-Force had an uphill battle to become a gin of any worth, but my god it really does an amazing job. The smell is an creamy aroma with an intense herbal twist, meanwhile the taste is simple, clean and smooth; surprisingly so for such a strong gin. This gin’s mild character despite such a strong ABV lurks under the surface easily makes it one of my favourites, over even the original gin it was based on!
2nd Best: G-R&R
The highest rated liqueur on this list, G-R&R was one I expected to be quite mixed on as it’s fairly mild, something I’m not usually keen on (not to mention I had the opportunity to try this spirit at a much higher ABV at one point and really liked it). Despite that, I really did enjoy this dram. The smell is very gentle raspberry and juniper, with the taste having a very prominent rose taste up front and a juicy berry aftertaste bringing up the rear. It’s not too sweet, incredibly smooth, and honestly best enjoyed neat.
Best Overall: Derby
It really pleases me that the my favourite gin on offer at Wither’s is the one that is named after my hometown. Derby is just a fantastic gin; the aroma of cooling herbs and citrus combined with the taste of juniper and spice are great as is, but finishing it off with a creamy medley of bitter fruits is just simply divine. I genuinely love this gin and it’s easily my top recommendation to try if you’re looking for something new to try!
And there we are! I will include the pictures of all the other products below so you can see what they look like too. Once again, apologies for the slow posting; big things are happening behind the scenes, I assure you! Thank you once more to Sarah and everyone at Wither’s Gin for the experience, it was fantastic! Now, let’s get back to work and (hopefully) have a post ready for next week!
This post’s recommended song is: “Save Me Everyday” – Perfect Cadence
