5 minute read
A smuggler s spirit
A SMUGGLER’S spiritA fleet of local, artisan spirits with a boat load of Cornish heritage.
Warm summer days call for crisp, cool drinks in the evening light, and what could be more enjoyable than one produced in the very same county, locally sourced and expertly made? Smuggled from Cornwall is a unique collaboration between Cornwall’s oldest cider maker, Haye Farm, and Cornwall’s fi rst plough to bottle distillery, Colwith Farm Distillery. Bill Cole from Haye, and Steve Dustow from Colwith came together, with two farms on two sides of the river with two proud farming traditions, to embrace one shared passion: to respect the integrity, heritage and history of the farms. It all began when these two friends, who share a passion for history, heritage, provenance and product integrity decided to ‘enjoy a glass and have a conversation’.
The company now boasts a collection of three delicious spirits just waiting to be sampled. Its Classic, juniper led dry gin with hints of apple, citrus and spice is distilled using apples from Haye Farm, possibly the world’s oldest cider maker. The master distiller infuses the apples with botanicals from aye arm and further afi eld to create a true distilled gin which draws upon its unique history, heritage and provenance – 800 years of history in one bottle. Produced from the fi nest potatoes and distilled in tiny batches, their vodka is gently fi ltered then blended with the purest Cornish mineral water for a smooth and creamy result which can be enjoyed neat on the rocks or as part of your favourite cocktail. The Barbadian rum is another favourite, a blend of column and pot distilled rum that has been aged in oak barrels for nine years, creating a complex character with notes of decadent vanilla and sweet honied fruits. Historically, rum would often taste of the sea as the smugglers dragged the barrels along the seabed to avoid vigilant customs o cers. Today, the rum is smuggled above board and allowed to rest at Colwith Farm, before being blended with the purest Cornish mineral water to create a rich and golden elixir, silky smooth to the taste.
The gin and the vodka are both distilled at Colwith Farm Distillery whereas the rum, in a nod to Cornwall’s smuggling past, is ‘smuggled’ from the Caribbean, but all three embrace an incredible avour and a wonderful re ection of Cornwall’s heritage.
SMUGGLED FROM CORNWALL
07787 504725 www.smuggledfromcornwall.com Find more like this: www.cornwall-living.co.uk
ABOVE Celebrating old traditions and making some new ones
INSET Made with crisp cider apples from Haye Farm
CLASSIC WITH a twist
ABOVE George's personal farourite, the Blue Angel Rock Gin
RIGHT Dry gins with subtle tastes and undertones The team over at Cornish Rock Gin are sure that their ever-growing collection of carefully crafted gins and rums will give you a real taste of Cornwall.
It was on a calm stroll across Rock beach with their four-legged companion, Blue, that Angie and George dreamt up their vision for Cornish Rock Gin, and today they have tantalising avours of gin and rum for you to try – a number that keeps going up!
“The idea of Rock Gin was to have a small distillery, making gins to sell in Cornwall,” explains Angie, “but we had no idea it would do so well. Slowly we just introduced new products and last year started with the rums, thinking that if any of the products were not successful we would stop making them, but we have continued to produce everything we have brought to the market!”
The quality of Angie and George’s products speak for themselves, having been made from the purest, most natural ingredients they can fi nd, many of which are found here in Cornwall. All of the gins are sugar free, and the team consider each one to be ‘classic gins with a twist’, without the use of syrups, so the gins remain dry with subtle avours and undertones. Angie explains that with the rums, the base spirit comes from the Caribbean, but they re-distil it here in Cornwall, again with the fi nest ingredients they can fi nd. “ ur Dark Spiced Pineapple not only smells of ripe pineapple but leaves a real lingering aftertaste. The White Espresso Rum, meanwhile, is made with coffee from our nephew’s farm in Kenya.”
It all started with the smooth Classic riginal in with its lingering li uorice taste, a very popular choice among the customers, and the collection hasn’t stopped growing for Angie and George. “We now have eight jewels that taste as amazing as they look, and the company continues to grow so the adventure continues. We also have six exciting rums (soon to be eight!), so we haven’t stopped yet!” With George’s personal favourite gin being the Rock Blue Angel, and Angie’s the Pink ock, it may take a few samples to fi nd your favourite, so make sure to head over to the distillery for the next tasting session!
CORNISH ROCK GIN
Penvose Cottage, Atlantic Highway, Near Rock PL30 3NP 01208 851718 info@ rockgincornish.com www.rockgincornish.com Find more like this: www.cornwall-living.co.uk
