We are excited to announce that one of the Festival’s long standing partners, SALCOMBE GIN, have created our first ever official DFF gin, exclusive to DFF this year.
The gin will be available at several outlets over the Festival including:
- The DFF Information Point in Royal Avenue Gardens
- The Official DFF Merchandise stall on the South Embankment
- Salcombe Gin stand on the Boat Float
- At the Festival Bar at the far end of the South Embankment
An autumnal classic, the gin is an exceptional sloe and damson variety that has been slowly aged in 80-year-old Niepoort Colheita tawny port casks at their waterside distillery in Salcombe.
Distilled with unrivalled passion, care and attention to detail, head distiller, Jason Nickels, first crafted a unique gin that harnessed the natural sweetness of the fruits before steeping locally foraged sloes and damsons separately for two months, before further distilling the damson spirit on 60 litre flame fired copper stills to amplify the flavours. The spirits were then carefully blended with Dartmoor water before being aged in the tawny port casks for over 3 years, where the spirit has mellowed, increasing in sweetness, picking up the flavours of the tawny port from the casks. Jason then added a second pick of new season sloes before bottling, to further elevate the flavours, bringing balance to the gin.
Jason commented, ‘This has been a long time in coming, the flavours of the port have really come through as mellow sweetness, increasing over the years, the addition of a second pick of sloes before bottling has given a new lift to the fruity top notes. The 2023 pick is as big and bountiful as I’ve ever seen and the ripe plummy flavours are amazing. This has incredible legs, clinging to the glass and mouth to carry the depth of flavour.’
Bottled at 35% ABV with the addition of only a small amount of sugar to complement the natural sweetness.
Only 400 bottles of this DFF exclusive gin are available priced at £40 a bottle, with £5 from every bottle sold donated to DFF.
Taste profile
Nose – Expect distinct aromas of sloes combined with fresh plum aromas and a hint of almond.
Palate – Rich on the palate with flavours of dark fruits and tawny port.
Finish – A smooth finish with subtle hints of warm sherry and vanilla.
Serving suggestion – Perfect now the weather has turned nippier, this exclusive DFF gin injects some winter warmth when sipped neat. As with all Salcombe Distilling Co.’s gins, it’s also excellent served with plenty of ice, a premium Indian tonic water and garnished with a slice of orange
