Silent Pool Gin has hidden depths –
Fans of the Antiques Roadshow will be familiar with the extent to which ancient Oriental ceramic designs have been copied by British, Dutch and other factories: borrowed identities which were brought to mind for me by watching the short animation “The Myth of the Silent Pool” on the gin maker’s website. It alludes to a fair damsel, frightened by a dark cloaked stalker as she swims in the secluded pool, before a bearded hero recovers her body from the waters, and her spirit floats skywards.
There is nothing faux, however, about the taste of Silent Pool Gin; a 43% distillation, hand crafted from no less than 24 different botanical at the founders’ premises in former farm buildings on the Aldbury Estate, Surrey. The characters behind Silent Pool are a former ITV director, Ian McCulloch, and James Shelbourne who is descried as a drinks expert.
Together they have created a distinctive and enjoyable gin which reflects their resourcefulness and imagination: not least in the bottles it is sold in. These are a work of art in themselves which, with their glass stopper and elaborate design, wouldn’t seem out of place amongst the glass decanters which turn up on shows like Bargain Hunt. Textural as well as attractive, the coppery gold design on blue tinted glass alludes to the array of flowery botanicals used in the process.
These include rose, camomile, elderflower and lavender, which are infused in a separate maceration to the harder ones like cubeb. The overall effect also benefits from the introduction of some local honey; an ingredient we’ve not come across in any of the spirits previously reviewed. The steeped grain spirit then goes into a Holstein copper still for a distillation process which draws its heat from a wood fired boiler.
The resulting nose is citrus and floral as well as offering a medium level of juniper, while the taste develops on the tongue over a period of several seconds that leaves us amateur imbibers struggling to appreciate all the different nuances. I would recommend avoiding strongly flavoured tonics – it would just be gilding the lily.
Truly Silent Pool has hidden depths and deserves its growing popularity; though at £37 a bottle it definitely isn’t ‘Going for a Song’.
