Hot Honey Gin

According to the British painter and poet William Blake, “the busy bee has no time for sorrow”. We couldn’t agree more, which is why the Distillery has been a happy hive of activity these past few months as we’ve crafted various combinations of honey and spice to come up with April’s second liquid. And just as King Charles is committed to nurturing the natural world, we’ve partnered with a local Chiswick hotel, Room2 – to source honey from their rooftop hives.

To make this limited-edition nectar, we combined marigolds, bee pollen, orange blossom and chillies in our experimental still and, once all the botanicals had macerated overnight, added fermented chilli extract and honey.

Shake up a Bee Sting or stir a Honey Bee’s Bounty and people will be making a beeline to your home bar. But first, be(e) sure to appreciate Hot Honey Gin’s sweet heat by pouring a 50ml serve over ice. Simultaneously cooling and warming, it’s ideal for sipping in between spring and summer.

Tasting Notes

The Nose: Citrus with soft floral notes.

The Palate: Sweet honey with orange blossom notes and a creamy mouth feel.

The finish: Building spice and lingering honeycomb.

40% ABV

Bee Sting

35ml Hot Honey Gin

15ml triple sec

1 teaspoon honey

15ml lime

chilli salt – a mix of salt and chilli flakes, to garnish

honeycomb shard, to garnish

Combine all the ingredients over ice and shake to chill and dilute. Wet the rim of a tumbler or Rocks glass with the chilli salt and fill it with ice. Finally, fine-strain the liquid and garnish with a honeycomb shard.

Honey Bee’s Bounty

50ml Hot Honey Gin

20ml honey blossom syrup (equal parts honey and water, plus 2 dashes orange blossom water per 100ml)

20ml lemon juice

50ml cloudy apple juice

soda water, to top

edible flowers, to garnish

lemon twist, to garnish

Mix all the ingredients except for the soda water in a Collins glass over ice. Top with soda and garnish with edible flowers and a lemon twist.