CAROLINE ASHFORD

A perfect partnership: Try these gins created with celebrity chefs

Chefs and distillers have quite a lot in common in their work: they come up with recipes, that we want to consume. Below are some examples of gins created in partnership with chefs – you may recognise some of the names!

In its Voyager series, Salcombe Distilling Co. has partnered with renowned chefs and drinks creators to bring a fresh twist to its gin. The most recent addition to the series, released in April 2021, is ‘Daring’ , created in partnership with chef Paul Ainsworth. It is inspired by his Cornish oyster dish, ‘A Tale of Porthilly ’ , which is a signature dish at his Michelin-starred Padstow restaurant Paul Ainsworth at No6.

British chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White launched his Mr White’s London dry gin ahead of World Gin Day 2021. He worked with Cygnet Distillery master distiller Dai Wakely on the new gin, which is said to be juniper led and features orange, lemon verbena and lavender in its botanical mix.

Also launched in 2021, James Martin Gin –named for and released in collaboration with the celebrity chef and TV presenter – was designed as a full-bodied spirit “that packs a punch” . Slowly distilled in small batches, it contains 11 classic botanicals and comes in apothecary-style bottles with wooden stoppers, at a strength of 44% ABV.

Acclaimed chef and transatlantic TV sensation Gordon Ramsay is partnering with Eden Mill Distillery in St Andrews, Scotland on the sixSix Rivers: Eden Gin (46% ABV), is named after Scotland’s Eden River and inspired by the Scottish honey berry and mara seaweed. A bespoke glass bottle has been designed for the Six Rivers range, using 18 per cent less glass than the industry standard.

Two Michelin-star chef Michel Roux Jr partnered with Neil Harrison, founder and master distiller at Nelson’s Distillery and School, to create the Le Gavroche Gin, named in homage to his world-famous restaurant. Roux Jr visited the Nelson’s headquarters in Staffordshire to help create the new spirit, which is designed to evoke the scents of Provence, France and combines 28 botanicals

This page, from top: Six Rivers: Eden Gin, from Eden Mill and Gordon Ramsay; Paul Ainsworth with a bottle of Salcombe Distilling Co. ‘Daring ’ gin; Michel Roux Jr admires a bottle of gin at Nelson ’ s Distillery