To taste, Edinburgh Gin is a triumph! At 43% ABV, it’s certainly not the strongest London Dry you’ll find in today’s market, but on nosing the gin it’s surprising the intensity of the aromas.

Edinburgh Seaside gin - The Gin.blog Edinburgh Seaside gin - The Gin.blog

With the gin originally created at Langley Distillery, they launched their own distillery and visitor centre in 2014. (As a side note, it’s a great distillery to visit, with a range of tour options. There are two custom bottles proudly on display at From the Gin Shelf HQ from our own ‘Gin Making Tour’. Highly recommended!) While working for the latter, Alex discovered a gin recipe in Leith. It had always been his plan to create a gin made to the recipe, and in 2010 Edinburgh Gin was launched. Inspired by its city’s gin-making heritage, Edinburgh Gin has been a huge player in the Scottish capital’s own gin renaissance.

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That said, I think the real dealbreaker is simply that Gin Mare goes big on a near-identical flavor mission while the EG: Seaside goes home. Both are pleasingly salty, but the Gin Mare doubles down on being savory and umami. Both have supporting herbs in the botanical list, but you can actually taste the olives and rosemary in the Gin Mare. And even as a "premium" product, Gin Mare is cheaper. Did I mention I like Gin Mare? To serve you can’t go wrong with a G&T garnished with thyme and grapefruit.The briny botanicals in Seaside Gin are the perfect match with these flavours. Top that up with a good quality tonic water and you have a perfectly refreshing G&T – plus you’ll feel like you’re standing on the beach and breathing in the fresh sea air…perfect! Edinburgh gin – A potted history… They also give a nod to the Scottish Art Deco movement during gin’s glory days in the 1920’s by way of the bottle label and design.

Edinburgh Gin - The Gin Guild Edinburgh Gin - The Gin Guild

A mixture of maceration and vapour infusion techniques are utilised to create the delightful flavour profile of Edinburgh Gin. The process used depends on the suitability for each botanical, of which there are 14. These are: juniper, coriander, angelica root, orris root, orange peel, lavender, mulberries, pine buds, lemongrass, cobnuts, lime peel, cassia bark, milk thistle, liquorice root. An intriguing mix of traditional and contemporary. Edinburgh started its long association with gin in the 1700s. The Netherlands was a key trading partner for Scotland and as a result genever, was imported in vast quantities into the city’s port of Leith. Partnering with the city’s Heriot-Watt University, who run the world-renowned Master’s in Brewing and Distilling, Edinburgh Gin have a well established link with the local university. Indeed, many of their distillers were educated there, including head distiller David Wilkinson. With tonic I’d pair it with either Fever-Tree Mediterranean or a classic Indian such as Franklin & Sons or Fever-Tree. The distiller’s recommended garnish of orange peel is where I’d go too, enhancing the citrus in the gin. If you want something a little sweeter, a wedge works well too.

Edinburgh Seaside Gin has an interesting story in itself. The distillery has a knowledge transfer partnership with nearby Heriot-Watt University, one of the few institutions in the U.K. where you can acquire a degree in distilling. Indeed, Edinburgh Gin’s own head of distilling, David Wilkinson, is an alumnus of the programme. And it was with students on the Heriot-Watt MSc that Edinburgh Seaside was made.

Edinburgh Seaside Gin Review | From the Gin Shelf

It’s well known it takes at least three years to create a legal Scotch whisky. But this Scottish spirit takes just three days! On the first day the still is filled with grain neutral spirit. As with most Scottish gins, and indeed those from throughout the UK, Edinburgh Gin buy this in. With its signature botanicals listed as orange peel, mulberries, pine buds, lavender and lemongrass, the tasting notes aren’t too surprising – but sometimes surprises aren’t always best! There’s a big juniper hit up front on the nose, with citrus not far behind.Inspired by the East Coast shoreline near Edinburgh, Edinburgh Seaside Gin is the product of a collaboration between the Edinburgh Distillery and Heriot-Watt University’s Brewing & Distilling MSC. Looking for a gin with a hint of the seaside? Then Edinburgh Seaside gin is probably the one for you!