Tasting Notes: Wicked Wolf Full Moon (Ocean Dry Subscription/October 2020)

Full Moon in bottom right of this spooky scene prepared and photographed by hard drinkin’, book hoardin’ lady of juniper Kat Rose and her chap of charm Warren.

Welcome to any new shipmates who have joined us this month. To the old seadogs who were with us in September I’d like to say sorry that the Cygnet was so nice it may not have lasted the whole month. So what have we got in today’s cargo?

This month’s gin comes courtesy of Wicked Wolf, a husband and wife distillery from Exmoor on the banks of the River Lyn. They’ve been releasing small batches for the last five years and are very proud of their particular method of slowly distilling each botanical individually. They have five dry gins, and for the Smugglers’ Club Ocean Dry subscribers, I’ve chosen their Full Moon gin since not only is it a (trick or) treat for your gin buds, I also couldn’t resist a gin that would put us in the mood for Hallowe’en. So before we talk about gin, I thought we’d get in the mood and talk about those poor people cursed with transforming into bloodthirsty hunters with each lunar cycle. Lycanthropes… werewolves. So sit down, close the curtains, lock the doors and if you hear any strange noises, a howl in the distance… panting at the door… scratching at the window - please don’t go outside to see…

The earliest references to lycanthropy were by Greek historian Herodotus around 440 BC when he described the Neuri tribe who lived near what is now Belarus. Once a year the men were said to transform into wolves for a few days before returning to human form. Throughout history, tales of such shapeshifters continued to appear in almost every civilisation - Asia was plagued with wereleopards  while werewolves became popular folklore in medieval Europe. King Cnut (making his second appearance in the Smugglers’ Club tasting notes) lay down religious codes so “the madly audacious werewolf does not too widely devastate, nor bite too many of the spiritual flock”.

Judging by how widespread the belief in Europe was, werewolves clearly roamed the continent bringing fear to all. Werewolves were even put on trial for their crimes in 16th century France. Judging by the numerous accusations of lycanthropy during the witch hunts of the 17th century, the werewolf population hit its peak around this time. 

Luckily for mankind, reports of werewolves declined in the last two centuries but they seem to still be out there in various parts of the country remaining largely undetected but spotted from time to terrifying time.

In 1920s Lincolnshire, a local archeologist found a human skeleton with a wolf’s head while digging in peat. That night a werewolf besieged his house. When the attack subsided with the rising sun, we reburied the remains in the same place.

The makers of Wicked Wolf have good reason to be cautious - in the 19th century a grey man with a wolf’s head was seen stalking a rabbit in their area. Perhaps the Beast of Exmoor, the fearsome creature which killed hundreds of sheep in the 1970s and 80s was a werewolf. It was never caught - even the marine snipers deployed to kill it in 1983 failed to slay the beast. It is still credited with attacks as late as 2001.

According to paranormaldatabase.com the most recent werewolf sighting was by a driver on the A1067 in Norfolk in 2006. Apparently feasting on a carcass it stood at “around a metre, with yellow eyes and black matted hair”. 

Now I can’t make any promises that Wicked Wolf’s Full Moon gin will keep monsters at bay especially since it’s a full moon on 31st October, but I suggest you don’t take any chances. So let’s try it now!

On the nose, Full Moon has a peppery character with notes of cardamom and coriander present. Tasted neat, there is a a really clear beginning, middle and end.  After an initial flood of soft fruit flavours, a mild bitterness can be detected before the prominent spiciness of black pepper comes in at the very end with the vapour working its way to the top of your nose. Full Moon’s unusual ingredient is mango but I couldn’t detect it neat - it’s role could be to soften the spiciness. I thought I could pick it up when I added a splash of tonic but it’s difficult to be certain. Tonic certainly smooths out the flavour and makes it dangerously drinkable.

Full Moon uses 7 botanicals, which isn’t many for a modern craft gin, but the taste certainly isn’t simplistic - there’s a lot going on thanks to their distillation method.

So that brings our scary session to an end. Next month we’ll be travelling to Europe for a new and exciting drink that will make you reconsider the boundaries of a dry gin, packaged in my current favourite bottle.