Cream Gin (700ml)

Back in the Victorian era publicans would serve spirits such as Gin out of a barrel on the back bar. The quality of the spirits served varied considerably and categories such as Old Tom emerged out of the need to smooth rough edges through vatting and sweetening. Cream Gin was the extreme expression of these early balancing acts, and was in high fashion, as can be seen in many depictions of Victorian life, but the origins and early compositions of the drink are unclear as the category did not survive en masse. Was it an actual addition of sugar and cream or simply a higher level of sugar as can still be found in “Crème de Fruit” or Gin “liqueurs”? No one knows for sure. Each and every interpretation would have probably been quite different from one drinking haunt to another.

Whatever the nature of these Victorian brews, this history aroused the talented crew of mixologists from the Whistling Shop on Worship Street in London, who set out to create a modern interpretation of Cream Gin. Using all the paraphernalia of the modern barman, they have crafted a contemporary (and historically paradoxical) London Dry Gin. In this updated context “Cream” refers to the use of dairy as another botanical included in the initial maceration, that will later be vacuum distilled, rather than post blending with the Gin. Besides this utterly original element, other botanicals include juniper, lemon, orange, cassia root, liquorice, coriander, cinnamon and orris root in a wheat based spirit.

The result is a clear Gin which according to its creators offers another layer of flavour to the traditional Juniper styles, with vanilla and dairy notes, as well as a luscious mouthfeel.