Mackintosh Gin has expanded its range with the launch of the Mackintosh Mariner Strength gin and the Pineapple & Grapefruit Old Tom gin.
The Mackintosh team once again worked to create them with head distiller Lewis Scothern of Distillutions Distillery in Arbroath.
Using the brand's already established London Dry recipe, founder James Mackintosh explained that the two new expressions have been created following feedback received from bartenders and fans of the brand over a 12-month period.
The Mariner Strength shares the same recipe as the London Dry but is bottled at 59% ABV whilst the Old Tom has fresh pineapple added to the botanical list and candy syrup added post distillation before being bottled at 40% ABV.
The Mariner Strength gin, the brand's take on a Navy Strength gin, is named so as a nod to co-
founder James’s career spent working at sea and was created to be enjoyed as a cocktail gin.
James said: “We wanted to add a higher strength version of our London Dry gin to be enjoyed in cocktails where the gin wasn’t muted by other spirits.
"We experimented with different strengths and at 59 per cent abv we found it was the perfect balance with the grapefruit really singing.”
The Pineapple & Grapefruit Old Tom gin was created to satisfy the growing number of fans who
don’t like tonic water.
The Mackintosh team. Picture: contributed
Co-founder Deborah Bowie added: “With every tasting event or festival we attend, we meet more and more fans who say they like to enjoy their gin with lemonade, so our goal with the Old Tom was to create a gin that could be enjoyed this way.”
“We experimented with different fruits, sugars, honeys and syrups, at varying ratios and percentages before settling on what we have now. Out of all the sweeteners that we trialled; we found the candy syrup was the one best suited with lemonade.”
The Mackintosh team recommend serving the Mariner Strength in a Martini or Negroni and the
Old Tom over crushed ice, topped up with lemonade and a pineapple chunk to garnish.
• Both new gins are available from www.mackintoshgin.com as well as local independent retailers
