As with a few of our other expressions, our Savoury Gin started life as a Distillery product, served exclusively at our home at 186 Portobello Road. It started out as a gin we called King Theodore of Corsica, an experiment which was once again inspired by our delving into the history of gin drinking in London. Sounds like a curious name for a gin, ‘King Theodore of Corsica’, but once upon a time there were many curious names for gin, such as Madame Genever, Diddle, Crank, Hearts Ease, Cats Water, Lighting, Daffy, to name but a few! That being said, consumer tastes have changed— dramatically. Floral and herbal facets are popular and widely sought after. While Portobello Road Gin does some nice things with its nutmeg, cassia, coriander and licorice botanicals— I can’t help but feel that it tastes a bit dated. It’s fascinating to see how trends manifest in gin. Especially when reviewing a gin form the early Gin Renaissance that we’ve not had in for review until now. In the mouth hits bright and vibrant, again with a nice dry finish, perhaps a little less spicy in flavour than some of the other gins but still with that lingering nutmeg heat, and like with the navy strength that tint hit of salt leaves you wanting more and the green olive gives us a lingering sense of dryness.

It transports you to the heady sunny days of summer and holidays to the Med. Great with food too, if you don’t feel like opening a bottle of wine. Portobello Road No. 171 Gin reads like a photograph of craft gin distilling around the time it was released. Heavy handed with spice, it’s your quintessential spice forward gin.Taking the idea of a gin for the King of Corsica as our jumping off point we decided to create a gin inspired by the botanicals of Corsica and the surrounding Mediterranean area. Joining the classic set of botanicals that we use for Portobello Road London Dry Gin, we also add, bergamot, rosemary, basil and green olive, and like with our Navy Gin we add just a tiny pinch of sea salt after distillation to give it that slight hint of coastal air. Perfect Serve: Pair with Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water and garnish with a slice of lemon and a sprig of rosemary.

The gin itself is designed in the London Dry Style. It features nine botanicals distilled on a base of wheat. The brand launched in 2011. Tasting Notes Portobello Road No. 171 Gin is a solid mixing gin behind the bar. I tend to be less a fan of spice-forward gins in a gin and tonic or gin and soda. Paired with a citrus seltzer or citrus tonic water, it becomes brighter and lets the juniper shine.

Portobello Road Gin has an impressive set of credentials. The brand was created by the founders of The Ginstitute. Once just a museum, now one of the world’s premier gin educational attractions— naturally, they needed to have a gin.