Salcombe Distilling Co has partnered with Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth to create Daring gin. The new offering is the seventh gin in the English producer’s Voyager Series.
Salcombe Daring Gin was inspired by A Tale of Porthilly, a dish available at Ainsworth’s Michelin-starred Padstow restaurant Paul Ainsworth at No6. The dish showcases Cornish oysters and features a fennel and apple salad.
Daring gin was crafted to mimic the properties of the Cornish oyster, and features fennel, apple and lime to replicate the accompanying salad found in the dish. In total, it features 14 botanicals, including seaweed and blood orange. To create the expression, Salcombe Distilling Co created a distillate using milk whey, which was then blended with English wheat grain spirit. The gin underwent a one-shot distillation process, after which the spirit was blended with oyster leaf and seaweed distillates.
“Within the ingredients of Daring you can taste the saltiness of the sea depicted by oyster leaves, the freshness of green apples, the soft aniseed of fennel, along with blood orange and lime,” said Ainsworth. “At the heart of the distillation process is a daring ingredient, whey, a sustainable by-product from dairy farming which brings a buttery smoothness to the palate, perfectly complementing the soft citrus and warming spices.
“The name Daring also recalls a time when our quaint fishing village of Padstow was a thriving merchant port, whose ships transported spices all over the world. Daring was one of the ships, built for owners in Padstow; it is also the perfect word to describe the driving force and ethos of The Ainsworth Collection.”
Each gin in Salcombe’s limited edition Voyager Series is created in collaboration with a famed chef or winemaker to represent their “individual personality and style.” In October, the English spirits brand teamed up with Chateau Climens to create the sauternes cask finished Phantom Gin. In August, they partnered with two Michelin-starred chef Niall Keating to release Restless Gin.
Bottled at 46% ABV, Salcombe Distilling Co Daring gin is priced at £75 ($103 USD) per 500ml bottle.
Last month, the brand unveiled a special drink for the Easter holiday called ‘Easterly Gin’ – a new tipple that combines hints of vanilla, cherry, citrus notes and a chocolate-finish – all with a view of conveying the flavors of the holiday.