It’s always One O’clock somewhere in the world

Stealing a line from Gin Lover One, when she reviewed 6 O’clock gin after a train Journey back from London, I’d like to take you to the Scottish capital where they fire a One O’clock gun each day, and visit a distillery in the shadow of the world famous Edinburgh Castle.

Cannonball is the Navy Strength version of the Edinburgh Gin we reviewed in the early days of our blog, and I can attest that the additional 14^% on the ABV of the standard spirit not only qualifies it to be carried in proximity to the ship’s gunpowder, but genuinely adds impact to the taste experience. The enhanced flavour is, however, not reliant on additional passes through the copper stills, but also a unique recipe which features a double dose (generally pronounced ‘doze’ in Scotland) of juniper, along with Szechuan pepper and  lemon zest.

The spicy finish is mainly bolstered by the Chinese spice – also known as ‘Prickly Ash’ and banned from the US back in the late 60s because the trees can carry a form of canker considered dangerous to America’s citrus growing industry.  The fungus is harmless to humans, however, and thanks to our Gin Scouts Bill and Lesley generously buying me a bottle for my birthday last month, I can report the overall effect is as enjoyable as Old Raj, and some way subtler than the Danish ELG we’ve reviewed in the past.  Cannonball does not, though, quite have the calibre to outgun our locally produced Beast Gin which continues to defend its position in the GINblogger Top Ten.

Cannonball gin can be purchased for around £40.00 from the distiller and elsewhere online.

Having said that, if you were high up in the grandstands watching the annual Military Tattoo in front of Edinburgh Castle, a flask full of Cannonball might be just the thing to keep out the cold night air.