Tarquin's Handcrafted Cornish Dry Gin

Tarquin's Cornish Dry Gin had been on my list to try for the best part of a year, so when I got the message to say it was featured in Amazon's new "Treasure Truck" I was delighted. As a disclaimer, I must admit when it comes to gin I am a bit of a traditionalist, I drink it only with tonic, no negronis or martinis for me. Upon opening the box you're greeted to a very classy looking bottle. The top has been wax sealed and little details like the Tarquin's logo being embossed into the wax on the cap and the waves imprinted into the bottom of the bottle (representing the Cornish coast where this is distilled) makes you feel like you have a real premium spirit on your hands. I was a little surpsied and disappointed when I noticed the label, I thought I had received a dodgy bottle as it was stuck on wonky. This briefly dampened my mood but then I looked at the small leaflet attached to the bottle and realised this is actually what it is meant to look like. Head on, the label looks quite nicely slanted, but I must admit when looking at where the two ends of the label meet it does look a bit shoddy and out of place for such wonderful branding. This is, however, the only small downside. Moving onto the gin itself. Look, I know most people aren't looking for a deep explanation into the subtleties of this gin so what I will say is this. If you want a really good tasting gin that looks amazing, something to bring out on special occasions or when you have people over, look no further. This is a great gin, an all-rounder, and personally I don't think you can go wrong. As I mentioned I love a crisp, dry, refreshing gin and this didn't disappoint. Botanicals used are Juniper, Coriander seeds, Orris root, Cadamon, Almost, Cinnamon, Liquorice Root, Orange peel, Lemon peel, Grapefruit peel, Violet. This isn't the boldest juniper based gin you will try, the juniper is there but is somewhat hidden by the citrus that shines through, but it is very well balanced. At 42% it's not going to blow your head off but at the same time you'll know you've had a gin! Price and availability mean this goes in my cabinet for when I want a nice gin. If I'm going to have 2 or 3 I'll have something I can easily replace from the supermarket, I don't want to plough through this, it's one of my favourites.

Nice Gin. clean clear taste. Quite strong so be careful 43%

Great quality gin. Gin is my go-to drink. This is lighter with a soft fruit note especially when you compare this to something like Tanqueray which has a definite juniper alcoholic kick. I've tried a few UK based gins (great to see we're good at something) and when travelling I like to sample to local brands. I do recommend this with the Feverfew Med tonic - tonic does plays a big part in enhancing the flavour. If you enjoy gin I'd highly recommended giving this one a try especially if you light a lighter, fresher tasting gin that is a true botanical, good environmental pedigree, home grown, award winning gin!

Distilled in Cornwall in small batches, a contemporary take on London dry gin, with botanicals including fragrant handpicked violets and fresh orange zest. The result is comparable to stumbling upon orange blossom in a crisp, dry pine forest, apparently. Well that's the blurb on the label, but is it actually any good? I stumbled upon this recently when on a weekend away in Cornwall, ordering an aperitif in a restaurant, among the bog standard gins which I didn't really fancy was this which I'd never heard of, so I gave it a shot. I was quite blown away, and so was my wife who insisted on stealing half of it for herself. I've been less of a fan of the dry gin style and my preferred brand for a long time has been Plymouth Gin, but after tasting this fantastic brand it has shot straight to #1. Bursting with flavour, the botanicals are quite strong and heady - usually with gin I don't add too much tonic, probably about 2:1 tonic:gin (and my wife is more of a 1:1 sort of person) simply so that you can actually taste the gin - but this highly aromatic gin stands up very well indeed to much more tonic, in fact I'd say it’s a necessity to dilute it more so that it isn’t overpowering. I also think that this gin is much better with a slice of lime rather than lemon, but that’s perhaps a personal preference. Now it’s not cheap by any means, so it’s perhaps more of a “special occasion” gin, and it’s certainly not for sharing. It will be carefully hidden at the back of the cocktail cabinet when the mother-in-law comes round.

Mother’s Day gift, she loved the gin and said the bottle was lovely

Purchased as a gift, I am sure it will taste as good as it looks, good value

This was bought for a gift and went well, I tried a single myself and it's a lovely gin, heavy on the juniper botanicals, which I love, it's smooth, I don't drink alcohol anymore, but this didn't give me any alcohol burn at all, it just made the back of my neck a bit warm 😆. A great gin and recommended, especially if you find it on offer.

Good price and my sister gave it the thumbs up