James Asian Parsnip Gin 700ml

James Asian Parsnip Gin comes from James Gin, the spirits range created by television presenter and writer James May, best known for his work on Top Gear and The Grand Tour. Asian Parsnip was May's first gin, produced at Downton Distillery in Wiltshire, England, and grew out of his idea to combine a distinctly English root vegetable with the warming spice found in Indian cooking, pairing the humble parsnip with a broader Asian-inspired botanical bill.

The gin is built from a grain base and uses twelve botanicals in total, centered on parsnip and the required juniper. Ginger, caraway seed, cubeb pepper, fenugreek, cardamom, grains of paradise, liquorice root, sweet orange, coriander seed, and angelica root round out the recipe, bringing a distinctly spiced, savory-sweet character rather than the citrus-forward profile common to many contemporary gins. The finished spirit is bottled at 40 percent alcohol by volume, with a higher-proof Navy Strength version also available at 57 percent.

The nose is unusual, carrying a slightly spicy, slightly vegetal character that's hard to immediately place. On the palate, gentle sweetness from the parsnip meets liquorice root, warming peppercorn, and a nutty roundness reminiscent of walnuts, all folded into a well-balanced, spice-forward complexity rather than any single dominant note. The finish is warming and moderately long, closing with hazy ginger, cardamom, and pepper.