Ever wondered what sunset tastes like? Thanks to the botanical boffins at Hendrick’s Gin, you can now find out. Created by Master Distiller Lesley Gracie, the new, nature-inspired Hendrick’s Sunspell Gin riffs on the radiant beauty and mellow magic of sunset. A limited-edition release, it’s available exclusively through travel retail. Thirsty for more? Here are five reasons to raise a glass to golden hour around the globe – responsibly, of course…
Madcap and masterful distilling
As with all releases from the Cabinet of Curiosities, Hendrick’s Sunspell uses the original Hendrick’s Gin recipe as its base. Hendrick’s Gin is a super-premium gin that’s made with unusual twists. Unlike ordinary gins, it is distilled in Scotland in batches of just 500 litres at a time, just as it was when the first drop was distilled back in 1999. It also uniquely features infusions of cucumber and rose petals, alongside a blend of 11 botanicals – juniper, coriander, orange, lemon, angelica root, orris root, cubeb berries, caraway seeds, chamomile, elderflower and yarrow root. This all adds up to create a lip-smackingly curious gin with a fresh, green, floral aroma and herbaceous backbone. Hendrick’s Gin is produced with deliberate inefficiency, using not one but two stills – Bennett, an antique copper pot that’s older than your grandma, dating back to 1860; and a rare Carter-head from 1948 (only a handful exist today). The result? A divinely smooth gin that balances lightness and complexity.
The gin-making alchemist
Hendrick’s award-winning master distiller, Lesley Gracie, draws upon her chemistry background when concocting her gins. She visualises flavours as shapes, seeking to create a round, balanced expression in all her elixirs. Over the past two decades, Lesley has amassed a museum-worthy stash of botanicals, distillates and experimental liquids, housed in Hendrick’s locked Cabinet of Curiosities. This precious cabinet lords it over Lesley’s laboratory at the Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Ayrshire, in scenic southwest Scotland (home to epic sunsets).
Lesley Gracie and her laboratory
Nature’s helping hand
The inspiration for Hendrick’s Sunspell materialised before Lesley Gracie one Tuesday evening when she was strolling along the Ayrshire coast, overlooking the sea and the mysterious volcanic island of Ailsa Craig. Propitiously prompting the birth of Hendrick’s Sunspell, the skies put on a painterly display, shifting from tangerine to peach, pink, purple and cobalt – the essence of which Lesley wanted to capture in a new spirit.
Artfully unique flavour notes and profile
We advise you to read this section while sipping from your very own glass of Hendrick’s Sunspell & Tonic (responsibly, naturally) to discover the irresistible aromas and flavour notes for yourself. If that’s not possible, channel Lesley and use your imagination. Reflecting its magic-hour inspiration, Hendrick’s Sunspell shines bright with bursts of warm citrus and hits of harmonious spices. Unfolding like the perfect sunset, layers of flavour reveal Sunspell’s mysterious blend. In addition to Hendrick’s 11 signature botanicals and cucumber and rose infusions, Lesley added orange blossom and blood orange to honour sunset’s hues. She also picked cardamom, chamomile, lavender and ginger to mirror the calming effect of sundown.
Hendrick’s Sunspell is available to UK travellers at World Duty Free for £34.99
(1 litre / 43.4% ABV)
Please drink the unusual responsibly. 18+ only. drinkaware.co.uk
