Two years ago I stood in the vineyards of Ca’n Vidalet in the northwest of Mallorca approximately one and a half kilometres from Pollenca. I was keen then to get Mallorcan wines recognised for their quality back here in England and more specifically at our first pub in Cheshire the Bulls Head. I am back again in Mallorca looking at wine and spending more time researching the growth in Gin here on the Island. To my surprise I found that the vineyard of Ca’n Vidalet is a craft Gin distillery as well as an exceptional
winery now.

‘Eleven’ is a gin made from…no surprises here…eleven Botanicals. This gin is different though it has been developed from a Pomace base that would normally be used to make Grappa. The botanicals are typically Mediterranean, with rosemary, Thyme and coriander, there are floral and citrus notes but this gin is pure and I mean really pure!! Gin Mare the most famous Spanish Gin would struggle against this excellent craft gin.

It is the first gin produced completely on the Island and a bottle will soon be on the bar of The Cholmondeley Arms served with a less sweet tonic and a piece of lemon zest and ice this is a distinctly different gin.

Hopefully our import will be here for Christmas in the meantime wait patiently!!!

The Dram. As in this 164 years old drawing, most people then were drinking their gin neat at the London ‘gin shops’ or ‘dram shops’.

The Norwegian Hammer Gin is among the purest of its kind, created with wild herbs and spices and produced according to a 200 year-old tradition. Using double pot still distillation with a unique filtering process extracts the purest flavour from the herbs, giving the product a clear, rich taste. Pure nose with a distinct aroma of juniper berries and a hint of citrus. Crispy, fresh and with a definite taste of juniper berries and elements of citrus. Refreshing aftertaste with a distinct dryness.

The French G’Vine Gin is small batch distilled from neutral grape spirit with fresh whole-fruit botanicals softened by the infusion of vine flower. Coming from all over the world, nine rare and fresh whole-fruit botanicals chosen for their purity and aromatic and healing properties – ginger roots, liquorice, green cardamom, cassia bark, coriander, juniper berries, cubeb berries, nutmeg and lime – are infused by family during 2 to 5 days and distilled in the grape neutral spirit in small liqueur-maker stills to get the best quintessence.

Infusions of vine flower and fresh botanicals are then blended together and copper-pot distilled a last time to get an ultimate and perfect smoothness and personality.

Bombay Dry Gin is one of the great old-school style London Gins, Bombay Original was first introduced in 1959 and is the precursor of the now more famous Bombay Sapphire. Much drier and more traditional.

Yes we have completed a year of being open as the ‘new’ Cholmondeley Arms. September being the month we opened last year 2011. We set our stall out then to be the best pub in Cheshire for the enjoyment of a Gin and Tonic (amongst many other things of course!!) and in turn create a legend.

Little did we know 18 months ago when Tim first visited the ‘Chum’ and decided Gins were definitely the thing to do here, that gin would have become so popular with micro/craft distillers popping up everywhere.

Trips to different parts of the UK and Europe have helped teach us so much about this famous and slightly infamous spirit. The glass, the fruit, the botanicals, the ice, the tonics and of course the gins themselves have all been explored.

We run an annual amateur Fruit Gin making competition, we have guest speakers such as James Chase from the Chase Distillery talking through Gin. We have tasting sessions for those guests that want to learn just a little bit more about Gin and its history. We operate ‘Bring Gin to the Inn’ where customers themselves can search out Gins on our behalf and be rewarded for doing so.

Our aim was to start with the ‘Cholmondeley Top Forty Gins’ in our house ‘Gin Bible’ and add to our collection through our pro-active Gin suppliers, our enthusiastic team and of course our customers who have all brought ‘Gin to the Inn’ over the last year from as far afield as the States and the Far East.

We have built our collection now to 115 different gins. We are the biggest purveyor of Gin in Cheshire, in fact the north of England and in our second year we aim to make the Gin Bible more informative, have Gin Quarterlies that focus the guest on new craft gins as well as some classics changing the list four times a year, add value to our ‘Gin Tasting Classes’ and of course build our collection and our knowledge. So come and help us…enjoy a classic Gin and tonic with us. Thank you to ALL our customers who have supported us in our first year!!!! We are so grateful for your business.