Wardington’s Original Ludlow Dry Gin – one of the “Loveliest gins in England”
Located in the midst of the Welsh Marches and steeped in history, John Betjeman described Ludlow as “The loveliest town in England” and it’s safe to say that the local distillery’s classic take on a London Dry is also one of the loveliest gins in the land. But will it, like the Ferguson’s last discovery, demand a place in our Top Ten?
Bill and Lesley picked up a sample of this very smooth and flavoursome, 42% spirit on the same pre-Christmas tour of their relatives as the outstanding Obsession, which we decided had to oust the locally made Ten Tor.
Once again they’ve identified a well-balanced, handcrafted gin that beautifully blends spices with citrus zinginess, nuanced with the essential juniper baseline. It has a tantalising nose and a long finish which we thoroughly enjoyed with our standard serve of premium Indian tonic and slice of lime.
The maker’s website informs us that: from the outset, they “Wanted to create a timeless classic range of gins, something to be savoured and cherished,” and that they love the taste of a proper juniper-led gin. “Gin is basically a form of alchemy: a simple copper alembic still as used for thousands of years, botanicals gathered and curated, patience and a little heat, and the magic happens.”
Those botanicals include coriander, cardamom, angelica and orris as well as hand-picked gorse flowers, and I really cannot argue with them about their gin having exceptional length. There’s also no doubt that this is a gin I’d purchase in the future, especially as we intend making the foodie’s pilgrimage to Ludlow ourselves this year. However I’m pretty certain that if we were to have a blind tasting against our other favourites such as Black Dog or Gutsy Monkey, the taste just wouldn’t be distinctive enough to topple any of the incumbents.
Ludlow London Dry Gin can be purchased for around £40 from the distiller … and, of course … Amazon …
