Killowen Distillery has announced the launch of their new brand, Hint Irish Gin, which has been exclusively released for Lidl as part of their Kickstart Programme and will be available in stores from Thursday 12th August 2021 across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Killowen Distillery is one of Ireland’s smallest distilleries by physical size but they certainly manage to punch above their weight as one of the most hotly followed distilleries in the country. They bottle Irish whiskey with their own distinct flair, while their own spirit matures slowly in the Mourne Mountains. Alongside whiskey, they also produce their own Poitíns, Rums and of course Gins!
To create Hint Irish Gin the Killowen team have ultilised “finest native botanicals to create the base for the gin then infused it with a blend of locally grown and exotic additions to create two new gins – ‘Blackberry, Orange and Rosemary’ and ‘Rhubarb Heather & Hibiscus’.”
According to Brendan Carty, Founder of Killowen Distillery “With many blackberry gins and orange flavoured gins already on the market, we decided to combine these two flavours. The blackberry with its sweet, slightly tart and earthy undertones balanced with the bittersweet of orange peel needed a little something extra and so for a grounding of flavour Rosemary was added.
The result is an inviting natural fruity aroma, when tasted bursts of blackberry and orange are noted with a gentle background of rosemary balancing so as not to become too sweet.”
For the Rhubarb flavour rather than going for a spiced finish which does work well, the Killowen team wanted to go down another route. Taking Heather from the locality with its mellow floral and sweet character it balanced well against the tart of the rhubarb. To add another depth of flavour and colour hibiscus was chosen for its cranberry like flavour that enhances the tartness of the rhubarb with out overpowering the heather. The hibiscus also gave the gin its pink blush.
The natural ingredients used resulted in a wonderfully fragrant gin that gives you a ‘hint’ of its ingredients without being too perfumery, and so it was Hint was born!
Find Hint Irish Gin on the shelves of your local Lidl from August 12th and support your local Irish whiskey and gin distilleries by picking up a bottle of Hint Gin!
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