We enjoyed making our second distillation of ‘Quince Gin’ this year. Everything, is meticulously timed with the ripening of our heritage quinces and made just as the first navel oranges are ripening. The crew here love drinking the gin on ice with a little squeeze of our orchard limes. But where is all the fun, if we can’t enjoy a few Quince Gin cocktails. Here are our two favourites – Quince Gin Fizz and Lime Thyme and Quince Gin.
Quince Gin fizz:
- 30ml gin
- 15ml lime juice
- 15ml quince syrup (recipe below)
- soda water
- mint sprigs for garnish
For each drink:
Peel a strip of lime peel over a glass, aiming to catch the oils that spray out in the glass. Give it a squeeze to get a bit more oil into the glass.
Combine 1 ounce gin, 1/2 ounce lime juice and 1/2 ounce syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into the glass. Top up with soda water and garnish with mint.
Quince syrup:
- 4 quinces, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tbs lime juice
- 2 cups water
Combine all ingredients in a small pan and simmer on low heat for two hours, until syrup thickens slightly and turns a lovely, jewelled rose colour. Store in refrigerator.
Lime, Thyme and Quince Gin cocktail:
- 5oml Quince Gin
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- Tonic to taste – we recommend Fever-tree Mediterranean tonic
Vigorously roll your lime before squeezing our every drop of lime juice. Pop in a sprig of thyme and bruise together and then strain into a serving glass.
Add your Quince Gin to the mix and top up with tonic to suit your taste. If you want to be fancy add an additional sprig of thyme to garnish. Ice cubes are optional.
