Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin, 70 cl

Product Information

Gin School sessions are three hours long. Guests can also enjoy 10% off all Salcombe Distilling Co. products in their retail store on their visit. To taste, the orange peel is the citrus that seems to have taken control of the fore, before giving way to the flavours captured during the spirit’s gentle slumber. The oak is clear, but it’s not tannic, rather it imposes a fruity and subtle wood note, much tamer than the flavours you’d typically get from the likes of American oak, with more of the previous occupant noticeable here than the ageing process or the charred wood. Clearly, it’s a well suited cask for the gin, as the two play off each other sympathetically enough for it to be recognisably Conker Gin, but with enough character to be a new experience in its own right and worthy of discovery. The spice, not particularly present with the original, is more fiery here and more enduring too. Conker Navy Strength Gin to taste:

Delve into the fascinating history of gin and let your creativity flourish as you craft a blend uniquely tailored to your taste using a selection of botanicals, fruits, and exotic spices. It’s green on the tongue, though the classic juniper elements are soon pushed out of the way by the elderberries, which bring a jammy sweetness and the chamomile-like gorse flower, which brings a candy-striped sugary hit to proceedings. It’s a smooth gin with a taste that lingers – fresh at the fore, though sweet throughout. This process takes around 12 hours, and while initially Holloway was only producing 60 bottles a day, the newer kit and a higher botanical intensity means he’s able to process a few hundred per still per day. Basically, Holloway now produces a concentrate which can be mixed with more alcohol and then watered down to bottling strength. Many producers are snobby about the multi-shot process, but we can’t say we ever noticed a change in quality between then and now… Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin to taste… Still, that doesn’t mean things have to remain static. Since launching, there have been two additions to the range, with both a Cask Aged and a Navy Strength releases in the winter of 2018. Conker Barrel Aged Gin to taste: Everything you love in a gin, met with the sweet comfort of port and the intrigue of the oak barrel.

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While it’s a fairly traditional flavour sipped neat, classicism goes out of the window once tonic is introduced. Dilution brings the jammy elderberries stampeding to the fore, with the fruits somersaulting across the tongue like a troupe of marionettes. It’s stunning, especially when served with orange peel. The resulting distillate is at a strength of 80% ABV. The hearts cut is left to sit for two weeks before Holloway blends it to 40% bottling strength with New Forest spring water. Of all the gins out there, none hit the sweet spot between classic gin flavour and moreish complexity quite like No. 3. If you have room for just one gin on your shelf, we’d make it this one. There are four different types of gin: London dry gin, old Tom, Plymouth and navy strength gin. Is gin gluten-free?

Their distillery tours have been awarded TripAdvisor’s #1 Thing to Do in Manchester so don’t just take our word for it! With Conker Spirit Dorset Dry Gin Holloway aimed to create a well-balanced gin, with no botanical much more dominant than any other. He’s achieved this well, with the flavours meld and intertwine delicately. To the nose, it’s a cacophony, with everything rushing forwards at once and shouting to be heard. Summery and sweet meadow-like aromas underpin the experience, with citrus and a soft, floral sweetness holding the juniper in place.While gin is made from distilled grain spirit, it doesn’t contain gluten peptides and is therefore gluten-free and safe for coeliacs. The verdict: Best gin 2023 It really is a beautifully captivating gin, with a rose gold hue to the colour of the liquid. On the nose, both the sweet port and the woody barrel are obvious to discern, bringing a forest fruit sensation on top of what is familiar Conker Gin territory (summer meadows and soft sweetness). For those not in the know, a conker is the seed of a horse chestnut tree. In the British countryside, school children are known to thread string through these seeds in autumn when they drop from the trees and engage in vicious battles, wherein they smash each others prized floor-treasure to pieces. Only one conker will emerge victorious, its owner grinning savagely through a face smeared with the entrails of lesser seeds. If you think about it, the only thing stopping you from starting something new is fear. We place such an incredible amount of importance on other people’s perception of ourselves that we all too often take the safe road. Taking the plunge really can pay off – Conker Spirit is a testament to this. This wasn’t simple a case of soaking Conker Gin in a lump of wood, rather a little tweaking had to be done. The distillery’s flagship offering was reduced to around 45%ABV before being added to former Port barrels (8 at a time) and left to rest for 8 weeks. Once maturation reaches its optimum moment, with the liquid taking on a fiery, caramel hue, it’s disgorged and diluted to bottling strength with water.

With its state-of-the-art 150 litre copper still “Victory” (aptly named after HMS Victory), Nelson’s produces high-quality award-winning spirits, quality controlled by Neil himself. Taste - The dry juniper and herbaceous freshness of the Dorset Dry is calmed and sweetened by a vanilla oak wood softness, subtle red berry and winter spice.

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I wanted Conker to be known as an innovative drinks producer, rather than another gin brand jumping on the band wagon. So for our second product, we took our time deliberately avoided the well-trodden gin distiller’s path of expanding into flavoured gins and instead focussed on creating something innovative and meaningful. You'll learn how they create their award-winning spirits; from the selection and distillation of botanicals, to the intricate field-to-glass journey of the ethically sourced speciality coffees of their famous Conker Coffee Liqueur. This is always a hard question, mostly because it’s all a struggle but also because when you are running your own busiess it helps to have a short memory when it comes to the pain! The hardest learning curve is learning how deal with the daily grind. The realisation that the headaches and challenges exist even in businesses that have ‘made it’ helps you take it more in your stride, letting go of things in your downtime and building a great team to help you take it on. Founded in 2016 by owner and Master Distiller Neil Harrison, Nelson’s is a small-batch distiller based in the picturesque Staffordshire countryside and producers of the special edition Gluggle Jug Gin, Craft Gin Club’s Gin of the Month in June 2019.

It is something I had always dreamed of doing but had talk myself out of along the way; persuading myself that the time wasn’t quite right. Before I launched Conker I knew that working for myself would give me more meaning and purpose, but now I realise that the greatest joy is that there is less of a rift between your home and work life. When you are not doing what you love for a living, you lead a double life – putting on a suit and a brave face from nine to five. Today, Conker is part of the family and although the job is tough at times, it never feels like a chore. Though a little craggy around the edges now, Holloway was a fresh face in the drinks industry when Conker Gin launched. Prior to starting the distillery he worked as a chartered surveyor, a job in which days stretched on for weeks and weeks into years. When he hit 29, he had what he calls “an early midlife crisis,” and decided to get out of there, deciding, quite suddenly, that he’d be “bitterly disappointed if I retire or die doing what I currently do for a living.” In our pursuit of new and exciting spirits, we've brought together two of our favourite tipples to create a gin like no other.

Made by historic London wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd, the six-botanical spirit took two years to develop with Dr David Clutton – a man who holds a PhD in gin (yep, that exists). It was worth the effort. You’ll even get to apply a wax seal and label to your 70cl bottle so it’s ready to be taken home the very same day. At their outstanding distilling laboratory, you can take charge of a beautiful mini copper pot still to develop and distill your very own bottle of gin or rum to take home with you. BLM talked to Holloway about setting up Conker Spirit, how the business has changed over time and what’s in the future.