Drumshanbo Gunpowder Sardinian Citrus Gin 750ml

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Sardinian Citrus comes from The Shed Distillery, the County Leitrim operation founded by PJ Rigney and his wife Denise in 2014, best known for building its flagship Gunpowder Irish Gin around Chinese gunpowder tea. This limited edition grew out of one of Rigney's characteristic travels, a journey along the Mediterranean coast that led him to the rustic Sardinian village of Siniscola, where he encountered sa pompia, or Citrus monstruosa, a rare fruit related to the orange and grapefruit that grows nowhere else on earth. Struck by its unusual, knobbly skin and complex aroma, Rigney brought the citrus back to Drumshanbo to fold into his existing recipe.

The gin keeps the same foundation as the original Gunpowder Irish Gin, twelve botanicals in total, eight slow distilled by hand in medieval copper pot stills and four introduced through vapor infusion, including gunpowder tea, juniper, and Irish meadowsweet gathered locally. Sardinian citrus joins the vapor infused group, slow distilled to preserve its distinctive fragrance rather than overwhelm the base recipe, giving the gin a Mediterranean accent layered over its original East-meets-Ireland character.

The nose is bright and zesty, orange and grapefruit tones from the Sardinian citrus leading over an earthy, faintly smoky base from the gunpowder tea. On the palate the citrus stays vivid through a crisp, juniper-backed middle before a long, juicy, floral finish. It makes an outstanding gin and soda with a grapefruit garnish, and its citrus intensity pairs beautifully with fresh oysters or other raw seafood.