ABOUT THE GIN
In the market town of Cirencester, in the heart of the Cotswolds, at the bottom of a picturesque garden (guarded by an enthusiastic puppy), is a small lean-to shed, the heart of Capreolus Distillery. Here Barney Wilczak tends to his still, producing, with intricate care and intense attention to detail, a wide variety of exceptional spirits. Founded in 2014, the speciality of the distillery is eau-de-vie, an extremely tricky type of spirit to create, but one which, when produced with the stringent quality controls enforced by Barney and his small team, results in delightfully nuanced experiences of smell and taste. His gin is distilled using 34 botanicals, including organically-grown Sicilian Tarocco blood oranges, locally foraged and grown native plants and, of course, juniper. The full list is a closely-guarded secret.
TASTING NOTES
Explosively aromatic, floral and citrus aromas dominating, with crushed coriander, lemon thyme and something like fennel in the background. The palate, tasted neat, is wonderfully rounded, full-flavoured and delightfully dry. The savoury characters of blood orange meld with juniper crispness and a hint of dry spice to create a wonderful, harmonious whole. A magnificent gin.
FOOD PAIRING
Beautiful in a classic gin and tonic, with a twist of orange peel, or a sprig of thyme, as the garnish. The floral character of the gin also lends itself to a negroni, although we would advise limiting the relative amount of aperitivo used to avoid losing the nuance of the Garden Swift.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Some of the botanicals are steeped in grain-spirit prior to distillation; the rest are placed into two baskets in the neck of the still (a handmade, 120l copper pot-still), and the infused spirit is gently heated in a bain marie to avoid harsh over-extraction. Each run takes about 8 hours, and producers 270 bottles. The gin is named for a type of moth, which appears on the traditionally letterpress-printed label.
In the market town of Cirencester, in the heart of the Cotswolds, at the bottom of a picturesque garden (guarded by an enthusiastic puppy), is a small lean-to shed, the heart of Capreolus Distillery. Here Barney Wilczak tends to his still, producing, with intricate care and intense attention to detail, a wide variety of exceptional spirits. Founded in 2014, the speciality of the distillery is eau-de-vie, an extremely tricky type of spirit to create, but one which, when produced with the stringent quality controls enforced by Barney and his small team, results in delightfully nuanced experiences of smell and taste. His gin is distilled using 34 botanicals, including organically-grown Sicilian Tarocco blood oranges, locally foraged and grown native plants and, of course, juniper. The full list is a closely-guarded secret.
TASTING NOTES
Explosively aromatic, floral and citrus aromas dominating, with crushed coriander, lemon thyme and something like fennel in the background. The palate, tasted neat, is wonderfully rounded, full-flavoured and delightfully dry. The savoury characters of blood orange meld with juniper crispness and a hint of dry spice to create a wonderful, harmonious whole. A magnificent gin.
FOOD PAIRING
Beautiful in a classic gin and tonic, with a twist of orange peel, or a sprig of thyme, as the garnish. The floral character of the gin also lends itself to a negroni, although we would advise limiting the relative amount of aperitivo used to avoid losing the nuance of the Garden Swift.
FRIARWOOD SAYS
Some of the botanicals are steeped in grain-spirit prior to distillation; the rest are placed into two baskets in the neck of the still (a handmade, 120l copper pot-still), and the infused spirit is gently heated in a bain marie to avoid harsh over-extraction. Each run takes about 8 hours, and producers 270 bottles. The gin is named for a type of moth, which appears on the traditionally letterpress-printed label.
WHAT ARE THE SHIPPING COSTS?
Orders of any value can be collected for free from either of our retail stores. Greater London next day deliveries will cost £10 for orders below £150 and are free above that.
Delivery costs:
- Order Value below £150 is £10.
- Order Value over £150 is free.
WHAT DOES “NEXT DAY DELIVERY” MEAN?
All our shipments in mainland UK and Greater London are shipped next day. Cut off time for a next day delivery is 12PM. Next day is only available on working days. Shipment can be delayed because of external factors.