Christmas 2016 feels like a long time ago now. Back then, my in-laws gave me a bottle of gin in a beautiful ceramic bottle. It was from their local gin distillery, The Gin Kitchen, then operating out of the back of one of the pubs in town, and who had just released their first gin a month prior: Gusty Monkey.

Dorking, a town famous for its wine, now had its very own gin distillery.

Fast forward to 2018 and with their gins now being sold through the likes of Fortnum & Masons it was time to move to bigger premises to cope with the demand. The Gin Kitchen‘s new distillery is in a 170-year old wooden barn nestled in the beautiful countryside on Punchbowl Lane, in Dorking, Surrey.

Once inside we were greeted by George, our host for the afternoon, who presented The Gin Kitchen’s full range of gins: Dancing Dragontail, Dashing Dog, Gutsy Monkey, and the latest addition Blushing Monkey. She guided us through a tasting of each, first neat and then with tonic, before offering us a G&T of our favourite.

Dancing Dragontail

The alliterative Dancing Dragontail, their ‘Summer Gin’, is their most popular and although it was released second, was the first gin recipe that founders Kate and Helen created. It’s a light, refreshing gin with pink grapefruit and cardamom so it’s easy to see why it flies off the shelves.

It’s great to see such attention to detail with the botanicals that the juniper used in this gin comes from Macedonia, whereas the juniper for Gutsy Monkey is Croatian. Taking each individual element and ensuring that its flavour perfectly matches what they’re looking to achieve is part of their success.

Dashing Dog

We also got to try the Dashing Dog, a special limited edition ‘Year of the Dog’ exclusive commission for Fortnum & Masons. It’s a twist on the Dancing Dragontail but with enhanced citrus notes which paired brilliantly with lemongrass and a lime wedge.

Blushing Monkey

The latest release is just a couple of months old (September 2018) and takes the classic Gutsy Monkey base, but then combines it with macerated black grapes to give it the gorgeous light pink hue. It’s a delicious take on the fragrant and warming spice of the Gutsy Monkey profile that I’m so familiar with and fond of.

Gutsy Monkey

This bring us to Gutsy Monkey, the first creation to be sold from The Gin Kitchen for their November 2016 launch. It’s spicy and warm, but not overpoweringly so, as well as being smooth and very easy to drink. I generally prefer my gins more citrus-led and less heavy on spice so this is my exception and will always have a home on my gin shelf.

Designed to be a winter gin, George recommended it with warm cider and a cinnamon stick which sounds delicious. I’m yet to try it but I shook our bottle earlier and there’s a little left in there for the winter chills.

The Gin Kitchen

The distillery itself is very small scale and currently operates with three 30ltr copper stills to produce their gins. However, while we were there a new, much larger, stainless steel still was waiting in the wings to aid their expansion.

Shelves of botanicals sit opposite stacks of bottles ready to be filled. The Gin Kitchen is a distillery on a very exciting stage of their journey.

Despite the name, it’s not just gin that’s produced here and we couldn’t leave without trying their own absinthe. It’s a drink that tends to make people shudder or conjure up bad memories, but whatever your relationship to the green fairy it’s definitely worth trying their deliciously smooth Eternal Absinthe.

Pop in and say hi over a gin, or two, in their little on-site bar.

Find out more about The Gin Kitchen’s new home, and order their gins online.