‘Tis the season to get spooky and it’s one of our favourite times of year at HQ! We’ve had the cauldron (ok, yes, we really mean the stills) bubbling and have used some incredible Junga Hops in this Halloween potion!
Inspired by Moorhouse’s Brewery and their Black Cat Reserve beer, we set about throwing bits of this (Junga hops) and a dash of that (cherry and blackcurrant) into the pot, and came up with a botanical mix that’s sure to lift your spirits!
Moorhouse’s, although brewed in the shadows or Pendle Hill – just like us, are never ones to shy away from a bit of a recipe collab. They’ve actually borrowed our rum barrels to age a dark beer (watch this space!), so we wanted to work on a gin that would compliment the flavours you’ll find in their limited edition beer. The Junga Hop has blackcurrant and cherry aromas so we knew we just had to use them in our Halloween Gin!
The label artwork
Too cute to spook – we just love this Halloween label. Resident Halloween artist, Molly, has once again created awesome artwork featuring some of the botanicals and hops used in distillation, plus as a nod to the Black Cat Reserve that inspired this gin, two black moggies! Here’s what Molly had to say:
“For this year’s Halloween label, I continued the theme of the witchy hand, paying homage to local legend of the Pendle Witches. Reaching through a thorny bramble bush, as she picks hanging blackcurrants in the distance. The witches hand clutches a cherry and blackberry, the juices of these dark fruits, she will mulch into another dangerously delicious, bewitching batch. She is accompanied by two black cats who watch in anticipation. I was inspired to use the cats on the label by our collaboration with Moorhouses Brewery, who barrel-aged their Black Cat Reserve dark beer in one of our PX Rum casks. I created the label using a mixture of watercolour, gouache and pen. Once photographed, in-house graphic designer, Lady Jane took on the digital adjustments and created the finished label.”
Black Cat Gin
Guaranteed to have you goblin G&Ts all night, Black Cat Gin is fruity a right up our Distiller’s street. A combo of medicinal herbs that can be found in witch potions, combined with Junga Hops, blackcurrant and cherry, Ryan said:
“This is my favourite time of year to release a product! Dark, spooky nights with drinks by the cosy fire led me down this route of fruity and warming botanicals. Blackcurrant and blackberries were used in distillation and to compound the gin and they have worked really well with sour cherry and medicinal herbs.”
Perfect Serve
Serve over ice with elderflower tonic and garnish with lemon peel and frozen blackcurrants.
Black Cat Bramble
To make this month’s potion, you’ll need:
50ml Black Cat Gin
25ml lemon juice
1tbsp sugar syrup
Ice cubes
Crushed ice
1tbsp creme de mure
Lemon slice and a blackberry to garnish
Shake the gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker with a good handful of ice cubes, then strain into a glass full of crushed ice. Drizzle the creme de mure over the top so it ’bleeds’ into the drink. Garnish with the lemon slice and a blackberry.
