Summer gins to brighten your Bank Holiday weekend

While it’s been unusual in some ways, summer 2020 has not disappointed in the range of new and limited-edition gins which have been released to garnish the drinks table at garden parties and bring a little sunshine to our liquor shelves.

With this weekend being the August Bank Holiday – a final hurrah of summer before we put the barbecues and sandals away for another year – what better time to remind you of this year’s summery offerings from the gin world? Here’s a selection of those on the market:

• 58 Gin has launched two fruity summer expressions: 58 English Berry Gin and 58 Apple & Hibiscus Gin. The London distillery takes its environmental sustainability seriously, so it has used foraged berries and “wonky” apples to make the spirits. The English Berry Gin uses foraged sloe berries from Kent and has been twice-distilled for a clear spirit with a strong berry kick (and, as a sloe gin, it will sit well in your autumnal drinks collection as well). The Apple & Hibiscus Gin uses surplus and wonky Cox’s apples, which are vapour distilled with hibiscus flowers. Both are available from Amazon and Master of Malt.

• Whitley Neill saw in the summer with two limited-edition releases, Strawberry and Black Pepper Gin and Brazilian Lime Gin, designed to make great base spirits for summer cocktails. Both are exclusively available through thebottleclub.com.

• Adnams brought back its orange and sea buckthorn-infused gin this summer by popular demand. Originally launched as a seasonal limited edition, it proved so popular that the Suffolk distiller decided to re-release it. It is made by redistilling an unhopped beer with botanicals including juniper, cardamom, sweet orange peel and sea buckthorn. With punchy tropical fruit flavours, this gin – available from Adnams’ website – is a real summer treat.

• Afterthought Spirits brought out not one, but three fresh summer releases under its Professors Club label: Professors Club Pink, infused with strawberries after distillation; Professors Club Secret Garden with hints of lavender, mint and hibiscus; and Professors Club Summer Dry, twisted with grapefruit and lemon. The limited-edition gins are for sale on the Afterthought Spirits website.

• Boë Gin unleashed its Apple & Lime full-strength gin this summer, a stand-out offering not just for its tangy apple flavour profile but also its show-stopping bright green hue. It’s available online and in Scottish Tesco stores.