Wimbledon Garden Gin

Wimbledon is famous for many things such as tennis, Wimbledon Common, and The Wombles, but not for gin, though that will change thanks to Wimbledon Garden Gin.

I suppose Wimbledon Garden Gin sounds better than Wimbledon Common Gin, as there’s certainly nothing common about this exceptionally good gin. It’s made by the Wimbledon Brewery, who have already gone beyond just brewing by making a rosé wine in conjunction with the Greyfriars Vineyard in Surrey. And now, on top of their very interesting-sounding range of beers, comes this venture into distilling with Wimbledon Garden Gin.

Wimbledon’s Brewing Tradition

Wimbledon has a long history of brewing. A man called William Watney was brewing there in the 18th century, and then went on to build the famous Watney brewery empire. The Wimbledon Brewery was founded in 1832, and today is on the site of Merton Priory, whose monks were brewing beer back in the Middle Ages.

Wimbledon Garden Gin Bottle

Pick up the classy turquoise box that the gin comes in, and the first thing to strike you is how heavy it is. That’s because when you open the box you discover that the bottle is in fact an equally classy ceramic container, with an old-fashioned flip top. I am reliably informed that this is officially called a Quillfeldt stopper, after its inventor, Charles de Quillfeldt.

My wife immediately commandeered it for re-use when empty as either a water container for when we have guests for dinner, or for use in an art project of some kind. If you live in Wimbledon you can even get the container refilled with gin at the brewery. Now that’s the kind of recycling we like.

The logo on the bottle is also intriguing. It’s the logo for the brewery, which has been slightly adapted for the gin. It shows the unusual 5-storey windmill-like brewery building, which was almost destroyed in a fire. Hence the phoenix also in the logo, and the gin version has a beehive added, to reflect one of the botanicals.

Wimbledon Garden Gin Botanicals

Wimbledon Garden Gin definitely boasts a unique mix of botanicals. For a start there’s gorse and heather, both from Wimbledon Common, and there’s also local Wimbledon honey. With a nod to the fact that the gin is made by a brewery, they’ve included that brewer’s favourite, Cascade hops. There’s also lemon, liquorice, and of course juniper. Quite an intriguing mix!

Tasting Wimbledon Garden Gin

Wimbledon Garden Gin is bottled at 43% ABV (86 proof) and has already won a Gold Medal at the International Gin Masters 2020. I don’t usually like to know about awards before I taste a spirit, in case it influences me, but I did happen to see this on their website. I later discovered that is also won a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2021.

Once I nosed and tasted the gin, the awards didn’t surprise me in the least. Unusually, my wife and I both tried it in a Gin and Tonic first, made with Fever Tree. Well, we’d just had a long and hot 4-hour drive and were in need of refreshment. It made for an unusual and brilliant G&T. The liquorice was the first thing we both noticed, and that remained evident as we continued to sip. It was definitely a G&T with a twist.

Next night I did my more usual tasting, with a shot of the gin neat. On the nose it was very crisp and fresh, a typical clean gin with the liquorice a bit less evident and more of a creamy and lemony aroma. Sipping it, there was a real mix of tastes – lemon, creamy honey, liquorice, juniper, the floral notes from the gorse and heather, and all wrapped together with a velvety-smooth mouth-feel. Either my tastes are changing or some of today’s classier gins can really be enjoyed neat.