Rosé Sainte Marie is the latest release from South Devon’s Salcombe gin distillery. The rosé gin joins the star-studded line-up of incredible gins they’ve produced; from the flagship Start Point gin (a favourite of mine) to the collaborative Voyager series gins created together with chefs Michael Caines MBE, Mark Hix MBE, Monica Galetti, and port producer Dirk Niepoort.
The Provence-inspired Rosé Sainte Marie gin has a distinctly pink hue to it, but it’s not as sweet as I’d expected or one might think given other pink gins. It’s still very much a dry gin, very herbal and citrusy to taste, with strong juniper notes too. While it’s not one of my favourites to drink neat, adding a little tonic or serving as part of a cocktail it’s amazing. Refreshing, but complex, it’s far from a one dimensional gin.
Alongside the juniper, other key botanicals include strawberries, angelica, fresh lemon and orange peel, lavender, lemon verbena, rose petals, orange blossom and pink peppercorns. A real mediterranean mix to transport you to holiday memories.
As the name suggests, it’s very much aimed at being an alternative to rosé wine, which I can definitely see myself enjoying it as. It’s been recognised at the highest levels too, as one of only two ‘pink gins’ to have been awarded Double Gold at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Online tour and tasting
I joined more than 140 people around the world for a Sipping Rooms virtual tasting together with Salcombe Gin co-founder Angus Lugsdin, their master distiller Jason Nickels, and brand ambassador Richard Maxted of Mix & Muddle. Together, we were shown around their 450L still called Provident and the steps involved in distilling a bottle, talked through some background to the gin, and taught how to make several delicious cocktails.
A particular favourite was the Ciao Bella cocktail: 25ml Salcombe Rosé Sainte Marie, 25ml rosé vermouth, 15ml limoncello, a dash of orange bitters, and topped up with Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic water. Garnished with a slice of orange and a spring of mint. Super refreshing and definitely a great one to turn to this summer.
A lovely part of these broadcasts is seeing several familiar faces like Sarah aka Gin A Ding Ding popping up with their cocktail shakers during the broadcast with everyone collectively mixing at home.
It was also great to hear a little about their gin school at the distillery, which has unfortunately been badly hit by distancing measures. Previously, it had 7,000 attendees over 4 years making it one of the area’s top tourist attractions. During lockdown they’ve pivoted to be able to offer some elements of the experiences virtually which is brilliant.
You can order a bottle from Gin Kiosk (use the code SALCOMBELIVE for 10% off) or direct from the distillery.
Keep an eye on the Sipping Rooms website and Instagram for future virtual tastings and tours. Previous evenings I have attended included Manly Gin, Greensand Ridge Gin, and Tarquin’s Gin which you can watch back on their website.
I was kindly gifted a bottle but the views in this blog are my own.