Rugby Distillery

The other weekend we strolled into town to the Food Festival where there were many different food stalls and a few wine/spirit sellers. Our eyes were drawn to Rugby Distillery especially after our  tour of Bombay Sapphire where we had both enjoyed their Citron Pressé Gin.

Rugby Distillery is a new gin brand to us and we were very pleased to discover they are only 25 miles away so a visit in the near future is very possible, no actually it's a must!  

Rugby is the town where the wonderful game began, rugby sport is a big part of our lives so it was equally pleasing to find links to the sport too. The striking labels on the gin bottles represents the teams rugby shirts and the bottle stopper has been designed to emulate the 'broad shoulders' of rugby players. I really liked how their logo includes rugby posts and a gin still - for me a perfect blend. 

It has been known for us to have a tasting early in the day - memories of a 9.30am wine tasing in Sardinia - but neat gin at 10.30 was an experience. It would have been rude to not try them all, especially as they were ALL absolutely delicious. Rugby Distillery gins are:

1823 Dry Gin - named after the year Willian Webb Ellis first picked up a football and ran with it - a great gin, lovely with a splash of tonic

1878 Navy Strength - the year of the first Army versus Navy rugby game - a weighty spirit, this would be delicious neat over ice

Rhubarb - perfect for cocktails with a tangy edge

Half Time Orange - not so much these days but previously an energy boost mid game - a great gin for longer drink with ice and an orange slice, this would make a lovely white sangria too

Menton Lemon - a superb town in  Southern France producing great fruit, Menton is also where William Webb Ellis is buried - delicious neat but perfect with tonic, ice and a slice

Hubby and I both agreed the Menton Lemon was superb and preferred it to the Citron Pressé so a purchase was made and after a stroll home we were soon enjoying our G & Ts in the summer sun.

Rugby Distillery are at many Food Festivals, I'll be certainly looking out for them. They also do Gin Tastings and have a Gin School. Both of these are high up on my 'must' do list, hopefully sometime soon. 

Thank you Rugby Distillery, it was a pleasure to meet you and discover your super gins, see you soon!