The Angel’s Share …
It’s rare that a glimpse of a label persuades me to buy a new gin, but the sight of the Lancaster crew waiting to climb aboard their plane definitely inspired me to pick up the 25cl sample of Angels High at Fermoy’s farm shop near Totnes; possibly with the Jubilee flypast having sharpened my patriotic verve.
As someone who spent their childhood living on RAF stations, and with a father who was never shy of recounting his wartime exploits flying Hawker Typhoons, I have to confess to being a little disappointed in the distillers’ back story, though definitely not the spirit itself. With the “Luxury Distillery” hailing from Lincolnshire where many of the Lancaster squadrons – including the Dambusters – operated, I was expecting some link to Bomber Command’s heroic heritage.
The website merely alludes to their larger still being called Vera after a Canadian Lancaster which visited the county in 2014, and lets us know that grapefruit and lemongrass are amongst the botanicals which get loaded into it. Maybe the makers are simply respecting military intelligence’s wartime mantra of “keeping mum.”
As for the taste of this 40% ABV tipple, its payload may not have the impact of a Barnes Wallis Bouncing Bomb, or the fiery heat of the multiple incendiaries the bomb-bay could carry, but when the flavour does explode on your tongue there’s no doubting the mother and daughter team have got the tonnage and formula just about right.
You can’t miss the juniper or citrus notes and a fair hint of spiciness, though I did find myself craving a few aftershocks. As is our habit, we had our first taste with ice, a slice of frozen lime, and a measure of Fever Tree Indian Tonic, though I did have another double using our recently purchased granite cubes to help the taste linger.
I’d be interested to know what our ‘Top Gun’ distiller and aviation expert at the Surrey Gin Kitchen makes of Angels High, but while I can’t put this high-flying gin in our Top Ten, I’d certainly take it up for another spin.
Angels High Gin can be purchased online from the distiller for £40
