Blood Orange Gin from Cornwall

Tarquin’s Cornish Sunshine Blood Orange Gin proved a monster hit when I shared it with some gin-loving friends.

When we visit friends I try to take something unusual from my drinks collection that I think they’ll enjoy. Sometimes I’ve tasted them first, and they’re used to sharing bottles that are already open, but sometimes I take a chance and pick something purely because it sounds good. That was the case with Tarquin’s Blood Orange Gin from Cornwall, which was a big success with everyone. Having tried a little neat, and then in a simple gin and tonic, and then in a second gin and tonic (it is totally moreish), I had to persuade them to leave a bit for me to try it again before reviewing it.

So, Who Is Tarquin?

Tarquin is Tarquin Leadbetter, Founder and Head Distiller at Tarquin’s Gin, based in Padstow, in Cornwall, where they know a thing or two about good food and drink. Although he did classical training as a chef at Cordon Bleu in Paris, in 2012 the 23-year-old Tarquin found himself having to work in an office in London. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew it wasn’t working in an office. Should he carry on as a chef, or do something different?

He decided to do something different and start what, at that time, would have been the first new distillery in Cornwall for 100 years, the Southwestern Distillery. He also set about finding the recipe for his first gin, making 100 different gins on his small 0.7-litre copper pot still before settling on the taste he was looking for. He then upgraded to a second-hand 250-litre Portuguese alembic copper pot still, and he was in business. He sold his first bottle to the Gurnard Head Hotel in St. Ives on 30th July, 2013.

Tarquin Gin Awards

In 2014 that first gin won a gold medal in the International Wine & Spirit Competition. He followed this by making a Navy Strength Gin, and this won the title of World’s Best Gin at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Not bad for a family-run firm where everything is done by hand in small batches.

Tarquin’s Cornish Sunshine Blood Orange Gin

Not one to sit back on his laurels, Tarquin has gone on to expand his range of gin and other spirits, including the amusingly-named Cornish Pastis, the first pastis ever made in the UK. There’s a range of Cornish fruit gins, and some limited editions, including a Cornish Crocus Gin, a gin made in collaboration with Padstow’s star chef, Rick Stein, and a Hopster Gin made in conjunction with Sharp’s Brewery.

And now this wonderful Cornish Sunshine Blood Orange Gin. It’s a lovely gin to sip neat, or on the rocks, and has a fruity sweetness from the blood oranges and other summer fruits that are in the mix, including rhubarb, but there’s also a balancing tartness, with herbal hints and, of course, juniper.

The gin really comes into its own, though, when it’s mixed, and it was actually designed with spritzes in mind. As my friends and I found, it’s also brilliant with a quality tonic like Fever-Tree and probably, though we’ve not tried it yet, with a Fever-Tree or other superior elderflower tonic. In fact if you buy it direct from the distillery, they’ll throw in a bottle of Cornish Orchard’s Elderflower Pressé so you can make the perfect Cornish Sunshine Spritz by adding some sparkling wine.

The Perfect Cornish Sunshine Spritz:

50ml Tarquin’s Blood Orange Gin

100ml Sparkling Wine

50ml Sparkling Elderflower Pressé

Fill a wine glass with lots of ice, add Tarquin’s Blood Orange gin and sparkling wine, lightly stir and top with sparkling elderflower pressé. Garnish with a large citrus wheel.

More Information

This Cornish Sunshine Blood Orange Gin is, thankfully, widely available so you can check for yourself just how good it is. You can buy it from the distillery, from Master of Malt, and if you live in the UK you can find it on Amazon. In the USA you can find a different British blood orange gin at Caskers.