The last year has seen me travel very little distance away from my home in Manchester, and its made me think more about all the great places to visit around the UK and none less then the stunning port of Leith. In the picturesque port district of Edinburgh is home to some fabulous restaurants such as The Kitchin which you can read about here, as well as an exciting distillery project, the Port of Leith Distillery, where they produce the stunning Lind and Lime Gin.

Now it is hard to escape that fact that the first thing that captivates you about this gin, is its striking bottle. The result of painstaking research and design. It not only looks amazing on the shelf, but the attention to detail is superb. It was this that first drew my attention to the gin.

This gin’s inception came about during the planning of a future whisky distillery, but when they realised that the gin scene had no signs of slowing, they decided to launch Lind and Lime. Rather than taking a back seat to the whisky project and being a side project, their gin has definitely shone a bright light on the company and very rightly, sits proud on many gin shelves up and down the country.

As the name suggests, this gin includes a subtle lime addition to the other familiar botanicals used, but many gin lovers around the country may not be that familiar with the name Lind.

It was James Lind, who was from Edinburgh and during his time as a Navy surgeon in the 1700’s, discovered that lime juice prevented scurvy amongst the sailors. This led to lime juice being preserved with alcohol and every sailor given a daily dose (This is why British Sailors were referred to as Limeys).

Of course preserving in alcohol wasn’t thought to be the best idea for the mass market and it was Lauchlan Rose from Leith, who later found that the lime could be preserved using sugar instead of alcohol, resulting in Rose’s Lime, which we still use today.

Lind and Lime uses this historical link with the use of lime and returns it with its original partner of alcohol instead of sugar.

On the nose the gin is bright and citrusy with a hint of subtle spice bought about by the use of pink peppercorn, which is one botanical I find increasingly delicious.

Neat on the palette the citrus compliments the juniper beautifully, it is silky smooth on the tongue with a warm gentle spice on the finish

Mixed as a G&T it really shines, with the tonic opening up the lime further on the nose along with the sweet subtle spice notes, however above all this gin is a definite London dry gin with all that juniper coming through.

I couldn’t help to think that this gin would work so well in an adapted French 75, using :-

• 50ml of Lind and Lime Gin
• 1 tbsp of Lime Juice
• 1 tsp simple syrup
• Top up with sparkling wine (Should be champagne but so many other great options)

A review of this gin wouldn’t be complete without using it in a Gimlet using:-

• 50ml of Lind and Lime Gin
• 25ml fresh lime juice
• 25ml ounce simple syrup
• Garnish: lime wheel

Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, simply shake and serve for a citrus delight.

This gin for me as an all round top buy, it stands out on its own, yet is so versatile – a must try for anyone that loves gin!