Theodore Pictish Gin, 700 ml

Product Information

To taste, the base note of bourbon vetiver transforms everything once again; it’s decadent and rich, perfumed but not perfumey. It adds a feint citronella too, that combines with the zesty pomelo, leading to wood and a great lashing of vanilla as it ushers in the finish. Ginger and a smattering of floral spice linger once the sip is over. An exciting new Scottish Gin is due to be released this autumn, the first spirit produced by the brand new Ardross Distillery, set deep in the Scottish Highlands in the ruins of a 19th-century farmhouse. And a limited-edition batch has already been released that has been blended and bottled in Scotland. A pamphlet entitled A Dissertation on Mr. Hogarth's Six Prints lately Publish'd contributed to contemporary comment on the subject. 6 This pamphlet was inscribed to the 'Lord Mayor, City of London and Worshipful Court of Aldermen' (1751) and contained a 'Genuine Narrative of the horrible Deeds perpetrated by the fiery Dragon, GIN...' In the Dissertation, the Bishop of Worcester asks, George, M Dorothy. London Life in the Eighteenth Century, Penguin Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1925: 56.

Hogarth, on his own admission, wished to draw attention to various social and moral issues in society. He would have had nothing to gain and much to lose by misrepresentation of facts with regard to these issues. Although his interpretations of the facts might differ from that of other witnesses, they had to be seen to be realistic. By co-ordinating his graphic images with those images provided by his literary contemporaries and in medical writings of the time, it can be seen that they represent a realistic scenario with regard to the prevailing medical scene and to some of the opinions expressed at the time. Hogarth offers a well-informed layman's view of the world of medicine as it impinged on the society that he portrayed. Alcohol abuse is just one example. Theodore’s initial top note is of elegant, citric pomelo and crisp pine needles that evoke the scent of fresh grass. As the top notes give way, honey ushers in a floral heart of Damask rose and oolong tea. Other duties were imposed, but the Vices alluded to in the Act of 1735 continued; the crime rate increased and this, along with poverty and ill-health, was blamed on the consumption of gin.Greenwood Distillers’ team includes Andrew Rankin as chairman and master blender. With 45 years’ experience, Rankin joined the distillery in 2015 after holding roles at Chivas Brothers and Morrison Bowmore Distillers. As Barth considered his blank canvas, the gin he would build using the Picts as inspiration, yet another chance encounter changed his approach. At the base of this gin are orris and angelica roots, warming flavour fixatives. But, thanks to the alluring bourbon vetiver – often seen in perfumes but very rarely appearing in gins – the pyramid isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse. Barth toyed with the idea of naming his gin after a Pictish king, or one of the four Pictish kingdoms that had banded together to form a society in the Scottish Highlands. None of it felt right.

It’s a cluster of process and balancing act to say the least, but the team assembled to create Theodore Pictish know their botanicals inside out. The initial help and outsourced production comes in the form of Audemus and Thames Distillery along with a consultant perfumer in the picture to ensure a delicate balance that may stray from the typical path and that may even hover over oblivion, but that never, ever loses its footing. What does Theodore Pictish taste like? One aspect of Ardross’s history in particular was undeniably inspiring: the Picts. A mysterious legend The gin is made using 16 botanicals including pine, Damask rose, pomelo and bourbon vetiver, which have been distilled in a multi-stage process using an old charentais still alongside a rotovap to extract the best flavours and aromas from each. Brosseau followed his nose as he sought to create a Gin that would tell the story of the Pictish people, using botanicals that have scattered their way across Scotland for centuries, as well as some inspired by the adventures depicted in the work of Theodore De Bry. Using both typical stills and a rotary evaporator, the botanical make-up of the Gin is not only vast, it’s complicated.

Awards for Theodore Pictish Gin

We look forward to bringing you more news about the opening of the Ardross Distillery in due course. We’ve seen that in short serves like Martinis, the juniper and the pine really come through,” Keivan says, “while in longer serves like a G&T or a Tom Collins you would get more of the floral and citrus botanicals coming through. It’s very versatile.”