New gin hits Ginblogger broadside –
When I saw Adnams Copper House Dry gin on the shelf, I did a double take – Adnams? On second glance, I was assured my eyes were not deceiving me for, indeed, the Adnams beverage was there in the spirits aisle – not in the beer area, which is where I’d normally hunt for a couple of bottles of the brewer’s famous Broadside.
“So, with my trusted skills of impulse purchasing when it comes to gin, it was delivered safely into the trolley.”
The Adnams brothers, George and Ernest, started brewing beer on their Southwold site in 1872, at the back of The Swan in the town, before George was reportedly eaten by a crocodile in South Africa in 1880.
In 1890, Adnams and Co was established, and since then has been modernised and enlarged and is well known for its beers, which my hubby loves. FYI, its flavoursome Broadside was named after the Battle of Sol Bay (or Solebay) where, in 1672, Southwold was the headquarters for the English Fleet under James, the Duke of York. The intensely violent Battle of Solebay, fought on 28 May 1672 was the first of four great fleet engagements during the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
The outnumbered Dutch under Michiel de Ruyter surprised the Anglo-French fleet under the duke, lying at anchor in Southwold Bay (Solebay). A Dutch fireship burned the Royal James, killing Admiral of the Blue Squadron Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, and hundreds of others. The Dutch lost two smaller vessels. Though indecisive in material terms, Solebay was a strategic victory for the Dutch in frustrating the allies’ hopes for an early invasion of the Netherlands by sea.
2010 Adnams Copper House Distillery opened
In 2013, Adnams Copper House Dry Gin was the Gin Trophy Winner at the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2013. Your two bloggers aren’t at all surprised, for this gin is absolutely delicious. A grain-based, London Dry gin, this 40% aromatic spirit is infused with six botanicals creating classic notes of juniper alongside sweet orange – it also contains Orris Root, cardamom, corriander seed – and, Adnams claims, it is the hibiscus flower which is least expected on tasting. I agree, that slightly flowery experience at the end of your first sip is suprising but somehow it works; and certainly sets it apart from other London Dry types in that it is so unusual.
“Serve: Adnams recommends a good quality tonic water and garnish with a fresh twist of orange peel – we love it with Fever Tree’s Clementine tonic and a juicy wedge of orange.”
In 1990, to celebrate its centenary as a public company, Adnams established a Charitable Trust which to this day, donates a percentage of its profits to groups and organisations within a 25-mile radius of Southwold.
