Peddlers Barrel Aged Gin (Shanghai) / 45.7% / 0.7l

Peddlers Shanghai Gin is China's first premium gin.

It was created by New Zealander and Dunedin University graduate Ryan MacLeod and his two friends, Joseph Judd and Fergus Woodward. After graduating, MacLeod went to China to teach English, but soon fell for the charms of the Middle Kingdom and discovered his true calling – creating a gin formula based on local botanicals. After five years of testing, the recipe was ready. It included ingredients from the “East and West”, including some truly unique ones. Juniper berries come from the Hungarian highlands, Sichuan pepper from Qingxi, Buddha’s hand from Yunnan, lotus from Gansu, mint from East Asia, licorice from Guangdong, almonds from Tianshan, angelica from north-east China, cardamom from Java, coriander seed from northern India and cassia bark from Yunnan. The Barrel Aged version presented here spent three months in Napa Valley Pinot Noir barrels. In its debut year, 2019, this gin won a silver medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards.

Peddlers Barrel Aged gin has quite an unusual bouquet of aromas and flavours, in which notes of slightly smoky pepper and juniper are balanced by caramel, orange peel, grapes and juicy stone fruit. This gin fully deserves to be sipped slowly, served only with a cube of ice.