[May 2018] If you follow me on Instagram you may know I am a big fan of Forager’s Gin from the Snowdonia Distillery. Not just because their gin is bloomin’ super but I have a tenuous connection that encouraged me to take a closer look.

I am a proud Welshman and lived five minutes walk from their distillery, that sits in the beautiful foothills of Snowdonia. I moved from the area before they opened but when I found this out, I felt obligated to take a closer a look. So back in January 2017, after a few emails with Chris Marshall, the Co-Founder and Owner, I arranged a trip to see my family with a quick visit to the distillery.

Snowdonia Distillery © Marcus Lewis / GinThing.com

Chris told me about how he got started, how he makes the gin and what his plans were – I’ll share these details another time. We talked about the Gin industry, the good, the bad and the ugly. I then discovered we both attended the same school, albeit a few years apart. I did say it was tenuous. I left after purchasing a bottle of both the Black Label and Yellow Label gins, excited to get home and give them both a go and share with Mrs GinThing.

Move forward to April 2018 and Chris drops me a note about a new Gin he has been working on, a limited run Oak Cask Gin in collaboration with Clogau Welsh Gold, who have made wedding rings for many a Royal. He explained they wanted to create a special gin to celebrate the Royal wedding on May the 19th, 2018.

Forager’s Clogau Reserve Gin © Marcus Lewis / GinThing.com

Chris went on to explain how he has used the water that was filtered by the Welsh Gold shale, a Spanish oak barrel he selected from Manzanos wines as well as the locally foraged botanicals; juniper, sea buckthorn, apple, elderberry, gorse flower and heather.

The Gin has a subtle golden hue, from sitting in the deliciously citrus Vochce Blanco white wine barrel for six months. To taste, the gin kicks off with the apple and leads to the juniper. Strong and bold but smooth with it. Citrus notes move to a hint of spice. I love the sea buckthorn. This is also in the Black Label, just with juniper, but adds a surprising layer of complexity from just two botanicals.

GinThing Cocktail © Marcus Lewis / GinThing.com

Chris has only made 440 bottles and is releasing 250 for sale. You can pre-order direct, from Clogau and I believe Harvey Nichols will also be releasing it.

Forager’s Clogau Reserve Gin: 2018 Release © Marcus Lewis / GinThing.com

I have no affiliation with the distillery, just enjoy supporting and promoting good gin and of course, drinking it. Big thanks to Chris for letting me sample the gin and I wish him and the distillery continued success.

Thanks for reading

Marcus