Garden Swift Gin - 50cl - 47% ABV

Capreolus Distillery founder Barney Wilczak created Garden Swift as a way to capture and retain those fleeting moments of nature, eternally preserving each season’s gains in alcohol so that they can be enjoyed for a great deal longer than the earth intended.

“Natural history has always been my first and foremost love,” Barney told us. “Living my whole life surrounded by beautiful, calcareous grasslands, rich with wild flowers and one of the best locations for wild and cultivated fruits in England, I was always enthralled.” The distillery is based in Barney’s childhood home in Stratton, Gloucestershire and makes great use of its countryside surroundings, capturing local botanicals at their peak and pulling the flavours from them when they have the most to offer.

To nose, a booming orange leaps up out of the glass, followed by an almost floral sweetness, though with a dominant citrus undertone. At 47%, it’s inevitable that a slight spirity smell comes through, carrying with it a fresh alcoholic piquancy. There’s no spice cupboard dustiness, rather the smell of freshly pulled spice – a hand crushed roasted coriander seed feel, if you will.