Sheringham Seaside Gin (43%)
When Christine Sismondo and I were researching our 2019 book, Canadian Spirits, we split the country up so to better cover all of our nation’s distillers, large and small. And among the territories I chose was British Columbia, home to roughly one-third of Canada’s craft distilleries.
During the weeks I spent crossing Canada’s westernmost province, several distilleries stood out thanks to particularly impressive spirits, from the new make whisky of Oliver’s Dubh Glas Distillery to the Black Moon Gin of Legend Distilling in Naramata and the Baijiu of the Vancouver’s Dragon Mist Distillery to the Advocaat of the Bruinwood Estate Distillery on the Sunshine Coast. And also, one particular coastal-influence gin from Vancouver Island, Seaside Gin from the Sheringham Distillery.
Born in a shed on the family farm, Sheringham is the work of Alayne and Jason MacIssac, who combined Jason’s career as a chef with their love of wine and spirits to produce a range of culinarily-influenced products, including their flagship gin now newly available in Ontario. (It and/or other select Sheringham spirits are also available in BC, Alberta, Québec, Nova Scotia, several US states, the UK, France, Norway, and Taiwan.) Given the Seaside Gin’s reappearance in my home market this week, I was delighted to be afforded the opportunity to reacquaint myself with it.
The aroma of this brilliantly clear spirit bursts from the bottle the moment the cork is removed, infusing the surrounding area with florals and juniper and a whiff of the seaside. The MacIsaacs told me in late 2018 that they wanted their gin to have “the smell of the sea and the forest,” and in this regard I’d say they’ve been pretty successful. Up close, the botanicals are quite floral, with lavender setting the stage, but when nosed from a few inches away, or diluted with a bit of water, juniper is joined by a gentle aroma of sea salt and kelp that announces the distillery’s Maritime roots without making the proverbial meal of it.
On the palate, a similar sort of flavour progression is presented, with creamy and lightly sweet, rose-accented floral notes first up, followed by piney juniper and the taste of a beachfront breeze, a hint of berry (blueberries, perhaps), sweet orange peel, and a peppery finish.
The back label says that the goal with this is to offer “a taste of our home, the West Coast of Canada, in a bottle.” Given that Vancouver Island is dominated by coastline and old growth forest, I’d have to say that Sheringham Seaside Gin does just that, and does it quite deliciously, at that!
89 ($49-$54)