Blood Monkey Irish Craft Gin 70cl

Product Information

Have we reached peak gin?’ This recurring question has been circulating the industry for several years now. While gin exports from the UK took a tumble during the past two years, this seemed to be more about pandemic pressures – such as the shuttering of the on-trade for extended periods – rather than consumer fatigue. Blood Monkey’s name and signature ‘drill bit’ design are nods to ‘bleeding the monkey’, the act carried out by sailors in the 17th century of drilling into the officer’s barrel to steal the liquor inside. Perrett was “pleasantly surprised” by the flight. “Experimentation was slightly restrained in a way,” she noted, “taking you beyond classic, but in a good way.”

Old Tom gins, on the other hand, tends to be more citrus-forward. The recipe, which first found popularity in 18th-century England. In modern times, is distilled to be slightly sweeter than London Dry, with a richer, malty mouthfeel. Many modern Old Tom producers also play with cask- or barrel-ageing their gins. There was also no shortage of Silver medallists in the London Dry category, with 29 Silver awards given, including to Brighton Pavilion Strength, Boomsma Dry Gin, Gibson’s London Dry Gin, and Malfy Originale. Muff Irish Potato gin with a splash of tonic, a slice of orange and a twig of rosemary. REBEL CITY GIN Cheong Thong also liked what she sampled. “These were big and bold, but also quite classic. A couple of these were very typical of what a navy gin should be, very good.”

Perrett said: “They were really good, delivering more intense flavours, better integration, although some needed work on the integration of the alcohol. They brought more heightened complexity. Something that punches doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good – for the price you’re paying you have to show a level of refinement.” For the perfect serve, West Cork recommends you fill a large glass with fresh ice, pour 50ml of Garnish Island Gin, 150ml of Premium tonic and garnish with a slice of strawberry. John Wilson The Showering Family has been perfecting their cider making skills for over 170 years, and to create a Triple Vintage blend we even pioneered a special cool fermentation process - a slow-moving maturation that uses both wild and house yeasts to turn the apples’ natural sugars into alcohol to create complex flavours.” Skellig Six18 has fresh herbaceous notes from the locally foraged botanicals with crisp citrus and pink grapefruit. Milliken was very impressed by the standard of entries in the Navy Strength flight. “There were a couple of standouts there, especially the aged ones. Despite the navy strength, I found these very easy to drink. I did add water to them, not because I needed to, but to see how they worked – and they worked either way.”

Larsson-Bell said: “There was excellent quality, with a huge array of flavours and botanicals to express. Sweetness was to a minimal level, and these gins offered more mouthfeel than sweeter elements. A vastly diverse category with a great future ahead.” Conncullin is a big and bold gin, bursting with flavour: wild fruits, juniper and citrus peel with subtle spice. Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin regularly scoops global awards, including the aforementioned double gold in San Francisco World Spirits Awards as well as The Gin Masters, IWSC and the Irish Gin Awards. Master distiller at Dingle Graham Coull says: "The unique botanicals found on the Dingle peninsula give a fabulously fresh, floral character that perfectly balances the traditional botanicals often seen in London dry gin and in particular juniper. For me, this combination provides a gin of unmatched quality. But to be honest, you really have to taste it for yourself."When asked what he would love to see accompany Blood Monkey in its gin box, Jason himself suggested Aine’s Irish chocolate with Seville orange. The flavours in Blood Monkey are quite pronounced so we knew this month we would need a light tonic water. It has beautiful citrus and herbal notes but with a much lighter finish that comes from reduced sugar. With a sophisticated dryness, Poachers Light can also be enjoyed on its own over ice with a slice of grapefruit or lime.

See themuffliquorcompany.com for a choice of gift boxes, including A Taste of Home, which includes Tayto crisps, Barry's Tea and Muff Potato Gin. The first, London Dry, is a gin originating in England–but not always London. To be defined as a London Dry, the gin must be made without artificial ingredients, colours or flavours, and juniper must be the dominant botanical. They also tend to be higher proof. Over 90% of mass market brands offer only dry-style gins. These tend to focus solely on botanicals and serve with a simple tonic. Blood Monkey intends to interrupt the category by creating a fundamentally different offer, rooted in both liquid history and fresh insight.” As with the standard Blood Monkey gin, he suggests you serve it neat with ice, or straight from the freezer. “Alternatively, we have found a number of complimentary ingredients that work well, including ginger beer (such as Bundaberg), but not ginger ale. We are trying to be overtly masculine as opposed to going down the pink gin route. It is not for the faint-hearted.” It looks like it’s getting hard to find a classic London Dry gin, but the experimentation is so exciting and you travel from extra bold juniper notes to a variety of peculiar flavours,” said Piromallo.

Garnishes

A total of 24 Silver medals completed the Contemporary flight, with awards going to Copeland Irish Gin, Sky Wave Gin Signature London Dry Gin, Palmers Gin and Greenpoint Gin, to name just a few. Bold, fresh citrus notes were a hit among the judges Pleasantly surprised

This was one of the largest sections in the blind tasting, and delivered a high number of top medals. Nine Master medals were awarded in the Flavoured Gin flight. Another double-Master win was collected by Atom Brands, which won the awards for Jaffa Cake Gin, found to be “fun, chocolatey, and moreish”, and Bathtub Gin Grapefruit & Rosemary, described as “being obviously grapefruit and rosemary, with a very ‘ginny’ palate”. Subtle tartnessIsn’t it great to see small Irish Artisan companies and their brands thriving in Ireland today. We believe this is one of our most beautiful gin boxes to date, and the flavours and ingredients are of the highest standards too. Pink Gin has been an increasingly popular category over recent years, and there was one gin in particular that stood out from the rest in this year’s tasting: Filey Pink Gin. The judges enjoyed the Master medallist for its “coriander leaf, mint” aromas, leading to an “open, flavourful palate, well-balanced herbs and red fruits – refreshing”. Palmer Group also collected a Master medal for Onyx Crystal Gin, which was described a “really good classic gin”. Downpour – Scottish Dry Gin took a Master medal after impressing the panellists with its potential to “make some great thirst-quenching drinks”. The Melbourne Gin Company took home a Master medal for MGC Single Shot Gin, liked for “bags of juniper on the nose”. The judges also raved about the “big floral and Kola Kube nose” of Master medallist Lindwurm Gin – Sommer Edition. Master-winning Shortcross Gin was also highly praised for having “bold, punchy flavours on the palate”, while Aczu Gin was found to be “very herbaceous with a higher ABV that holds well”, and therefore also deserving of a spot in the Master ranks. A wave of Gold-standard gins followed. Of the 39 Gold medals awarded, two were given to Archie Rose Distilling Co for its Signature Dry Gin and Distiller’s Strength Gin.