January 01, 2015
Portobello Road Gin: Director's Cut No.1
Launched every year in October to mark the birthday of Portobello Road Gin and it’s founder Mr Ged Feltham, Portobello Road Gin launches a special edition gin for its 'Directors Cut' series. Each edition is a different recipe, distilled in small batches at our home; Number 186 Portobello Road, London, England. We take this opportunity to introduce to you some slightly more unusual gins, to flex our creative muscles and to pay tribute to some of our favourite gins from the past.
The concept of the ‘Directors’ Cut’ edition was conceived by the four Directors of Portobello Road Gin: Ged Feltham, Paul Lane, Jake Burger and Tom Coates following a long-term desire to produce a unique gin with botanicals hand-sourced by themselves.
The first Directors Cut was co-founder Paul Lane's back in 2015. He created the first ever London Dry Gin made with British asparagus. Asparagus gin in a slightly different form to this was popular in the early years of the 20th Century but we are unaware of anyone having produced one commercially since 1916.
Paul worked with British asparagus producer Will Aveling to source 10kg of spears in Cambridgeshire during the last days of the asparagus season, tasting and selecting the thinnest spears due to their high concentration of flavour.
Once picked, Paul hand delivered the spears to Master Blender Jake, who distilled the unique blend of botanicals to create the curious concoction which has the classic juniper forward character of Portobello Road Gin but with a most unusual hint of asparagus on the nose and that distinct and sweet flavor right the way through the palate. The sweetness is counteracted by the dry, bitter character of the small amount of Gentaian Root which also has a slight mineral flavor (reminiscent of wet slate) with the spicy, long finish of Portobello Road and a punchy 47% ABV.
Paul Lane commented “We take immense pride in our craft when producing Portobello Road Gin, distilling with integrity and individuality. But with the Directors’ Cut we’re able to take our passion for experimentation to a whole new level.”
“We’ve been experimenting with the more unusual botanicals for years and have dreamed of hand-picking our own botanicals to go into a special edition gin. We actually use asparagus as a botanical at The Ginstitute, where gin fans can come up with their own creation but this is the first time we’ve worked with an asparagus producer directly to handpick the spears from the ground for a gin that customers can buy. This is not a gin for everybody but those who like it love it. Before you ask, no it doesn’t…”
Directors Cut No.1 is now sold out but stay updated for our next Limited Edition project or Directors Cut by following us on our social channels and signing up to our newsletter.