Just the gin for a ‘Social hand-grenade’

Since setting up GINblogger we’ve reviewed several brands where the bottles are quirky or offer an interesting aside to the story, but I’d venture that “Pull the Pin” leads the field in respect of the way the stopper has been designed.  And I should also add that the spirit itself was well worth the purchase price as well, even if it is not quite as explosive as some of our favourites.

For anyone who has never paid attention to news footage of the world’s trouble spots or watched a war film, hand grenades have a pin which has to be extracted before being lobbed towards the enemy, though the five-or-so second timer doesn’t activate until a lever flicks off as it leaves the thrower’s grasp.  Alternative names include Mill’s Bomb, pineapple (describing the casing) and even potato-masher.

We got our first sighting of the weaponised distillation during a stay in North Devon’s Appledore, where two of the shops on the promenade stocked it, and we were so taken with the taste that we took another bottle home for our former Royal Marine, next door neighbour, Martyn Evans.  Not only to thank him for checking the mail while we were away and introducing us to Cunard’s No 3 Gin earlier this year, but also because he was known to a lot of his mates in the Corps as “The Social hand-Grenade”.  In other words, pull the pin at a party and stand well back.  Heart of gold, but with the excitability of a five year old diving under the Christmas tree.

When you do follow the instruction on the label, the aroma is quite strong on citrus notes as well as the juniper – with Seville orange apparently responsible – while cassia and coriander contribute spiciness in the finish.  It is definitely a classy as well as a classic style gin which mixes well with a variety of tonics or a splash of the sparkling wine in the welcome pack at our holiday cottage.

Looking back at some of our reviews, Roku Japanese gin probably had the most elegant bottle while Dancing Dragontail came in an eco-friendly porcelain receptacle, but it’s definitely Pull The Pin’s stopper which blows my mind.

Pull the Pin can be purchased widely for around £36