I opened the first door with some excitement. Or rather, I hacked my way into the first door with my fingernails, having not yet mastered the art of persuading the doors to open. Inside, I found a delightful little bottle of gin with a black wax-covered top. I had not yet mastered the art of just twisting it open at this point, so I picked off all the wax to reveal a plain white plastic lid.
The gin was Half Hitch (40 % abv). I found it citrusy and sweet. I enjoyed this one, and gave it 7/10. I didn’t want to give it too high a mark because there might be better ones. I later changed it to 8/10, though, because it was that nice.
The official Ginvent tasting blurb describes it as having notes of bergamot and black tea; that I should like it is weird, for I can’t bear Earl Grey tea. Having said that, I do like pepper and citrus:
Produced in the former warehouse vaults of Camden Lock, Half Hitch Gin is made using a gin base that is blended with tinctures of black tea, pepper, hay, English wood and bergamot.
Gin Foundry
The Half Hitch distillery itself has this to say:
The unique combination of ingredients and production processes, particularly the use of tinctures, gives HALF HITCH its distinctive colour and taste. On the nose you will discover lifting and aromatic notes of light citrus followed by spicy, fresh cracked pepper and juniper berry. On the palate, note tones of sweet orange, nutmeg and rich black tea before a long finish with lingering touches of cinnamon and fresh lemon zest.Half Hitch
So no mention of bergamot there. But all the things are things I like, so it’s no wonder I enjoyed this gin. I would definitely drink this gin again.
This is what I wrote on Twitter about it:
I'm really enjoying gin 01/12 from @theginblog's ginvent calendar. To me, it tastes sweet, fruity and maybe citrusy. I really like it 😋 pic.twitter.com/hNthb6FaYi
— Caity Ross (@pandammonium) December 1, 2016