Our Taplin & Mageean Gin evaluation explores their 4 premium gins. Every is exclusive, however all are distilled in a 200 12 months previous railway station in lovely Wensleydale. Every of the 4 gins: Signature Version; Elderflower Orchard; Spiced Orange; and Peach and Basil is bottled at 42% utilizing a single-shot distillation.
Disclosure: We have been very kindly gifted the 4 gins on this evaluation by Taplin & Mageean. We at all times disclose this in our critiques when that is the case. We now have a coverage of solely that includes gins on this web site that we are able to actually suggest; we’re delighted to have the ability to so for every of the Taplin & Mageean gins as you may learn under! We earn a small fee for those who click on on the adverts on this web site (and occur to buy one thing), however we’ve not acquired any cost for this evaluation. Cheers! Andy
Taplin & Mageean
So, who’re Taplin & Mageean? Taplin is Chris Taplin, an area hotelier, passionate concerning the Yorkshire Dales and eager to utilize its assets. Mageean is Barry Mageean, a younger, but skilled, distiller who shared the identical imaginative and prescient to create small batch, premium gins. The Taplin & Mageean distillery itself relies in Leyburn prepare station. You might even recall the headlines about their distillery from a few years again, after they used a authorized loophole to advertise the gin on a shifting prepare earlier than that they had their licence to promote it.
There are three copper stills in use on the distillery. Wendy and Jenny for the principle runs, and Ruby – an alembic copper pot – for recipe trials. The workforce are eager on high quality. There’s actual consideration given to the distillation course of, for instance. The assorted botanicals are every soaked for various lengths all through the distillation to make sure the precise components are extracted from every.
As talked about within the introduction, this can be a single-shot distillation too. There’s a really restricted a part of every distillation that will get used, and no further spirit is used to attain that 42% bottling power, simply native Yorkshire Dales water.
In order that’s the background, what concerning the gins? We tried every in flip…
Taplin & Mageean Gin critiques
Taplin & Mageean Signature Version
The blue-labeled bottle within the line-up above, this can be a gin that guarantees a lot. It’s a multiple-award winner already, together with a silver medal on the San Francisco Spirit Awards in 2019. That’s not a nasty begin!
When opening the bottle, your nostril is straight away hit by the juniper. That’s in all probability no shock. Every of Taplin & Mageean gins is unashamedly forthright in its juniper; these are all gins that remember it, somewhat than cover it. The opposite fragrant trace for what you’ll quickly be tasting is citrus. That’s undoubtedly extra delicate although, and that pretty juniper dominates.
To style. What was unanimous from all of us reviewing it was stability; that is an extremely well-crafted gin, and it’s no surprise that it has already garnered awards. Juniper is totally there, however that citrus bursts by too. That’s not stunning both, provided that some punchy grapefruit options within the botanical record (each dried zest, and recent). We additionally although there was one thing of a delicate bitter word too. We couldn’t put our fingers on what it may be however, irrespective, it remained in lovely concord within the total flavour.
To serve, the suggestion is a premium tonic, ice and a grapefruit rind/zest garnish. That was what we every of us reviewing tried first, and it labored very properly. The garnish picked our these grapefruit elements; that is undoubtedly one for the following replace of our record of gins that work properly with grapefruit. We felt this gin is one that can work properly with most garnishes although, so properly value experimenting.
Taplin & Mageean Spiced Orange
For us, this expression was like Christmas in a high quality gin! However that’s a praise, not a slur. Open the bottle, and the nostril is simply bursting with these yuletide aromas all of us love – cinnamon and spice – alongside that juniper. All of us agreed that you might think about having fun with sipping this on a chilly, winter night time. Our tasting happened (nearly on Zoom) on a heat summer season night time, however the gin went down very nonetheless!
To style, we discovered that the gin had a beautiful, silky high quality to it. That was a very nice shock; typically extra ‘spiced’ gins generally is a bit harsher. This definitely wasn’t, and we actually loved this Spiced Orange expression neat, over ice. The flavour profile we discovered right here actually did match the aroma, and the fullness of these heat botanicals have been as well-balanced as these within the Signature Version.
The recommended serve right here is tonic, a splash of ginger ale, ice and recent orange zest. Our view was combined on the addition of the ginger ale [despite loving a good gin and ginger ale, I was in the “not needed” camp on that – but it’s all down to personal taste! Andy] All of us agree although, that this an exquisite, heat and clean gin.
Taplin & Mageean Peach and Basil
That is the one we have been most intrigued by pre-tasting. There was nervousness that peach would possibly recommend two varieties of spirit we’ve had prior to now: a uncooked schnapps-like expertise, or an overly-sweet concoction that overpowers the juniper and kills it as a gin.
We needn’t have apprehensive. The distiller – and large credit score is due right here – has created one thing advanced, but perfectly-balanced, on this Peach and Basil gin. Opening the bottle introduced preliminary confusion on the aroma. Juniper is there, tick. However what else? We struggled to outline it, and I knew instantly that I’d battle to explain it. The very best we may collectively provide you with was that it was a mixture of “reduce grass”, “sweetness” and “natural” aromas in with the juniper.
To style then. Admittedly, by this level we’d taken a have a look at what among the botanicals have been to assist us out! Basil and peach have been undoubtedly there because the headliners, as is the juniper. However the total style remained advanced, and really pleasurable. Wanting down a botanical combine that features vanilla, liquorice root, cocoa and pink peppercorn, and you may see why we have been struggling to explain it although. You actually must attempt it your self!
The serving suggestion is tonic, ice, lime zest and basil leaf. We couldn’t argue that having tried it – this can be a gin that’s actually well-balanced (a constant theme with Taplin & Mageean gins) and it doesn’t want any additional flourish. This gin actually is peach good. Sorry that’s corny, nevertheless it’s true. It is a gin that might have gone very unsuitable, however works beautifully properly.
Taplin & Mageean Elderflower Orchard
Final however not least in our 4 gin line-up is the fresh-sounding Elderflower Orchard gin. On opening the bottle, that is instantly the sense you get too. Juniper main strongly, however delicate floral notes are additionally simply detectable.
To style, the gin opens up right into a clear and recent drink. All of us agreed that this was a very clean and delicate gin, with no aggressive flavours or dominating botanicals. It was fascinating to notice that there are regionally grown apples within the botanical record, together with chamomile and elderflower. All are fairly delicate in their very own proper, and we thought they labored very well collectively right here.
The recommended serve is with a Mediterranean tonic, ice and slice of inexperienced apple. We tried that, and it was very refreshing. We additionally tried it with an elderflower tonic; that labored too, however we’d recommend one on the subtler finish of the spectrum to keep away from overpowering it (we used Fever-tree, per the advert under). In the event you like a recent and floral gin, Elderflower Orchard is an actual winner in our view.
Purchase Taplin & Mageean Gin
General, we have been universally impressed by the total Taplin & Mageean Gin vary; all of them style like high quality gins which were very well thought by. We predict there’s an excellent probability that they’ll proceed so as to add to their awards. Our favorite from the vary? If pushed, it could be the Signature Version – it’s a cracking, assured gin that epitomises Taplin & Mageean’s deal with high quality and craft in distillation.
The excellent news is that Taplin & Mageean ship wordwide, and you should purchase direct from their web site right here. We don’t assume you’ll be upset whichever one you attempt.
Cheers! Andy
