Today is ‘World Gin Day’, although with #GinADayMay having only recently finished, it seemed like most days have had an element of gin in it.

This isn’t a bad thing though, as despite some thinking the gin market is becoming saturated, there are still a great number of gins that I and many have yet to explore, that are more than worthy of a major shout out.

With a large number of brands launching ‘just another gin’, it puts a bigger incentive on gin makers to produce something special, and its you and I the consumer that benefits from such competition.

So here I am another month into 2021 and still seeking out those great gins, so you don’t have to plough through the mediocre ones.

Lytham Gin is one such gin brand, with the fact that they had not 1 but three gins picked as finalists in this years The Gin Guide awards. So I set about researching the fairly local brand for myself, and all four of their gins sounded great, however it was their Navy Strength gin named ‘The Navigators’ that intrigued me the most.

I set about trying the spirit for myself so I could give you the heads up.

The first thing that stands out on the bottle is that its produced at 54.5% abv – which goes against everything I know about Navy Strength which should be 57%. The 57% requirement stems back to when gin would often be stored below deck on Royal Navy ships, if gin was spilt onto the gunpowder it would not ignite unless it was at least 57% abv (Or 100% proof), so why is this one 54.5%?!

Master Distiller Sara is a former chemistry teacher and so with her inquisitive mind she decided to set about to find out if thgis old story was true. To her delight she found it was, however with one slight difference. With the advancement in digital technology she discovered that the exact abv at which the gunpowder would still light is actually 54.5% – so as a chemist and perfectionist, that’s where this navy gin had to sit. The chemist background is sure to play other parts in the gins production as just like in the world of wine, chemical compounds and their understanding are the basis of the flavours that we experience, so her background stands her in good stead.

The Navigators is the 4th gin produced by Lytham Gin, with all 4 being dry in style. The others include the original, a pink gin – because Sara wanted a pink gin that was still dry in style and then a colour changing gin, which came about from requests.

I open the bottle of The Navigators and on the nose this gins definitely packs a punch, which is to be expected on a navy gin at high abv.

Juniper sings its way out of the glass along with a beautiful herbal element of woody rosemary, there is no mistaking this for anything but a traditional gin.

The herby punch continues on the palette when tried neat along with a natural subtle sweetness of liquorice and a great mouth feel bought about by the inclusion of Bramley apple juice within the distillation. The finish is spicy with a reserved touch of cardamom and the liquorice which helps to create its length.

As usual when first trying a new gin, I mix with a light tonic. The juniper still sings first, with rosemary still a short step behind. However the addition of the tonic also brings about an almost coriander leaf vibrancy that I believe to be from the presence of pink peppercorn and ta he slightest touch of fresh lime.

On the palette the same elements come through beautifully with also a cleansing feeling of menthol on the finish bought about by apple mint.

I decided to mix with a Mediterranean Tonic and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary from the garden. I am somewhat surprised at how easy drinking this gin is, with its true strength being disguised with 50ml of gin 150ml of tonic going down far to easily, so be warned, this is serious stuff.

Staying with the theme of its name, Sara also tells me that this gin is also being enjoyed by officers on board HMS Queen Elizabeth as one of the officers is a friend and takes it on board for others to also enjoy – I just hope they don’t have too many at once.

Sara then going on to mention some of the exciting things they have in the pipeline, but has to stop herself so as not to give to much about the plans which are currently still very secret. I will definitely have to keep my ears and eyes open for some official announcements.

If you want to check it out for yourself, or try and of Lytham Gins other spirits, you can do so here and is now also stocked from Booths

Name:- The Navigator’s (Sandgrown Spirits)

Price:- £42

Proof:- 54.5% abv

Buy From:- Sandgrown Spirits Website

Disclaimer – Lytham Gin was sent to me as a PR sample in exchange for my thoughts – the blog and all opinions are those solely of Manchester Food Tourist