Tasting Notes: Cygnet (Ocean Dry & Colourful Cargo Subscriptions/September 2020)
Welcome once again to the Smugglers’ Club! Last month saw you enjoying Sunderland’s Poetic License gin. For September, I captained the Nautilus through treacherous waters to South Wales to try a most delectable drink which I’m excited to share with you, my industrious crew. Before I wax nautical on its virtues I’d like to tell you the story of its origin and nomenclature, since it’s a gin steeped in the history of its hometown, and that town has plenty of history indeed, boasting the earliest evidence of modern humans in the British Isles.
Although Swansea itself is named after Sweyn Forkberd, the 10th century Dane and father of King Cnut who held the distinction of being the first Danish king of England, the distillers of Cygnet have spun a yarn that goes back to the 13th century and sheds new light on the town’s name. Local folklore has it that the city known as Swein’s Eg became known as Swansea when a tempestuous storm brought schools of fish to the shore which attracted the townspeople to the water to collect the washed up treasure, with the detritus attracting vast numbers of swans.. a swans’ sea. The distillery took inspiration from this tale and christened their gin Cygnet.
Their story then jumps to the 19th century when, in a bid to create a cure for cholera, two local men distilled their own gin using botanicals with a medicinal reputation. They may have, perhaps unsurprisingly, failed to cure cholera, but they did succeed in creating a popular tipple, the recipe of which Cygnet bases itself on today.
So let’s get to the gin itself! First, take a moment to enjoy the bottle. Smooth cream earthenware with the baby swan illustration. I’m a typography nerd and the font on Cygnet is a beautiful example of the form. Do I still have your attention or have I lost you with the font digression? Shall we move on to the gin?
Pour some into your gin bowl, swirl it round like you’re the Queen of gin and take in the aroma, your highness. On the nose, you’ll pick up cardamom notes with some chamomile. Taste it neat and the first botanicals to arrive are the citrus fruits. Cygnet uses peel from lime, lemon and grapefruit and it results in a sun-drenched taste coating the mouth before a finish that is spicy but still retains some smoothness. Now resist the temptation to just keep sipping. OK, have one more sip. It’s more-ish isn’t it? Now let’s enjoy it with some tonic. Personally I like Cygnet with a plain tonic, but if you prefer a flavoured one, the flavour will still come through. Mixed, it loses none of the citrus and the earthy notes of Angelica and Orris root are apparent too. This month, there’s also some homemade lime wheels which will pack an extra citrus hit if you’re after something even more refreshing.
I hope you enjoy this charming Welsh gin throughout September. What will be in October’s cargo? All we’ll say is that you’ll be celebrating hallowe’en with something suitably spooky…
As the Welsh might say- ffarwel,
Your Captain