Oh My Gin. A Spanish Gin?

I'm a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to gin. I nearly always buy Bombay Sapphire as I like the clean, crisp taste and there is also a distillery near where I live so I feel like I am buying local. If there isn't any Bombay, then I'll always try to choose a London Dry Gin like Tanqueray. 

So, when the Naked Wines Christmas case included a bottle of gin from Spain, I was intrigued. Had I ever tried a gin from Spain? I don't think so.

The Rambla 41 Mediterranean Dry Gin is made in a small, artisan distillery in Spain by Stefan Lismond and Philippe Geeraert and is made just for Naked Wines. 

According to the blurb, all the ingredients come from the Catalan region near Barcelona. The base spirit is made from Grenache and Carignan wine lees (the left overs from the bottom of red wine tanks). It is then infused with botanicals like Almonds, Juniper and Angelica which are apparently gathered by hand from the hills around Priorat. They then add orange and lemon peel and some special water from the gin makers' well. All impressive stuff.

I've never really looked at the ingredients of gin before, but much of the base ingredients seem similar to others I've tried. For example, Bombay Sapphire is made with Juniper, Angelica, Almonds and lemon peel. So although the method of production is more artisan, it shares many of the common ingredients to gins I've tried before.

However, the biggest difference in production seems to be the filtering method. Rambla 41 is non-chill filtered whereas most big brands chill-filter their gins as a cosmetic procedure in order to make the spirit clear.

Because Rambla 41 is non-chill filtered, it is slightly cloudy as the botanicals have not been stripped out. 

Ok, so enough about the ingredients. What was it like?

Well, the bits floating around in the gin didn't bother me at all. I mean, once you've squished some lime in your gin, it always ends up slightly foggy anyway.

If you look carefully, you'll see
the botanicals floating about

But I have to say, it does have a unique taste. It is very aromatic and fruity and quite unlike any gin I've ever tried. It is also very smooth and not at all harsh. 

But at £34.99 (£24.99 Angel Prices), it's not cheap. So is it worth it? Oh My Gin, I loved it. A really delicious treat that I will definitely buy again. On the Naked website, Angels can review things they've bought. And 98% of the 224 people who have reviewed this gin say they will buy it again. Which is a pretty strong accolade IMHO.

The gin makers recommend serving it with Fever Tree tonic, lime, a grape cut in two (presumably because a whole one would be a choking hazard - jokes) and some orange zest. I'll give that a go next time I buy some.

The bottle is also very beautiful (label below) if you like that sort of thing.

Back on the Baron hunt! Mini-me style!

Look out for the stickers in
Shop windows

On the Baron Trail you say? Didn't you write about this in the Summer? Ended in September no? Well, it's back! Mini-me style! 

That's right, there's currently a Christmas Baby Baron trail in Salisbury. My dog, Baxter, is slightly less excited about being dragged on this trail because it involves visiting a whole load of shops in Salisbury town centre. Whereas last time it was all outside so he got extra walkies while I searched for the Barons.


There are 27 Baby Barons in total to be found. And, if you find them all, you're in with a chance of winning a £50 shopping voucher and a Baby Baron! 


Here's the rules:

- There are 27 Baby Barons in shop windows around Salisbury. Some of them are easy to find and some of them are in disguise or hidden!
- Most of the participating retailers have a sticker in their window which lets you know they are participating. 

- Next to or near to each of the Baby Barons is a card with a letter next to a corresponding number.
- Pick up a leaflet from one of the participating retailers and enter all the letters into the puzzle to complete a phrase. 
- Once you've found them all and found the phrase, put your email address on the back of the leaflet and hand it into any participating retailer. Bingo Bango!

Pick up one of these leaflets

Once again, I could use the map to help me find the Baby Barons. But where's the fun in that? I'm hoping to stumble across them all whilst wandering around Salisbury. It's a great way to see Salisbury at Christmas and all the lovely window displays in the various independent shops in Salisbury city centre.

I'm giving away one of the locations but... The GREAT news is that one of the participating retailers is Cambridge Wine merchants so you can stop off for a bottle of your favourite festive tipple while you search for Barons. Win, win.