Ouch! Is this the harshest review of a celebrity 'gin' we've seen?

Here at Craft Gin Club, we’re all about showcasing the very best of artisanal, small-batch and rare craft gins that both respect the traditional definition of the drink and provide an innovative, exciting new taste experience.

However, even though you won’t generally find one of the new flavoured “gins” that are pushing the boundaries of what we understand as gin inside our Gin of the Month boxes, we respect all the wild and wonderful new gin-inspired products on the market, especially if they encourage non-gin drinkers to experiment and try more ginny tipples at home!

Which is why we were a bit shocked to read the Daily Mail’s Taste Test Review of a new “gin” that’s just been launched by reality T.V star, Spencer Matthews…

• By European law, to count as gin, the bottled spirit must be at least 37.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) and have juniper as the predominant botanical and flavour.
• In recent years, many drinks have appeared on supermarket shelves labelled as "gin" or “gin-flavoured liqueurs” that are as low as 18% ABV and taste mainly of an ingredient that is not juniper, such as chocolate or marshmallow.

By European law, to count as gin, the bottled spirit must be at least 37.5% ABV (alcohol by volume) and have juniper as the predominant botanical and flavour.

In recent years, many drinks have appeared on supermarket shelves labelled as "gin" or “gin-flavoured liqueurs” that are as low as 18% ABV and taste mainly of an ingredient that is not juniper, such as chocolate or marshmallow.

The drink in question is a new low-alcohol tipple that is the brainchild of the former “Made in Chelsea” star, who also happens to be Pippa Middleton’s brother-in-law.

The taste test review, which was penned by Richard Godwin - author of The Spirits: A Guide to Modern Cocktailing - begins by describing the concept of low-alcohol gin as “completely pointless… like a one-legged centipede, or a plane with hardly any wings”. Miaow!

The review goes on to declare that the founder’s favourite serve (a combination of the low-alcohol gin with raspberry and basil over ice) “tastes a little like essence of yoga studio.” OUCH!

Rubbing salt further into the wound, he goes on to say that “as soon as the ice melts… the flavour dissolves.”

Clearly, this is one drinks professional that has yet to be swayed by the low-alcohol gin! However, the article also states that the UK market for low and no-alcohol drinks is already worth more than £200 million, with sales of low- and no-alcohol spirits expected to increase by 80 per cent by 2022, a trend being led by younger drinkers.

You can read the full article here.

So what’s your take on low-alcohol or no-alcohol “gin”? Have you tried it, or would you like to? Let us know what you think in the comments on our Facebook page!

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