Introducing Mandu Gin!
Each June we release an extra special Innovations release – our Club Member Collaboration! Mandu Gin is our third limited edition gin, distilled with help form a Club member. This year Lily submitted the inspiring botanicals of black garlic, chilli and ginger. We then selected complimentary ingredients and distilled into a finished gin. A savoury aroma leads to notes of sweet black garlic, balanced with warming ginger and chilli on the palate. With earthy notes from wild mushrooms, this Korean-inspired winning recipe is aromatic and packed full of unusual flavours.
As ever, we have used the Innovations Club to explore out interests of culture and cuisine. When Ryan began working on the recipe development for the Club Member Collaboration, he was inspired by Korean food and went further down the savoury route. Ryan chose to add more unusual botanicals such as seaweed, shiitake mushrooms and soy sauce! The name for June’s gin comes from Korean cuisine, mandu are Korean dumpling, either boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried, their ingredients are similar to the list of botanicals this month.
Botanicals
Angelica
Black garlic
Black pepper
Brown sugar
Cassia
Coriander
Ginger
Gochugaru chilli
Honey
Juniper
Mustard seed
Seaweed
Shiitake mushroom
Soy sauce
Red bell pepper
Winning Club Member
We were really inspired by Lily’s choice of botanicals, once Ryan developed the final recipe we sent Lily an early sample of Mandu Gin. Asking her to taste test, fill in sone tasting notes and develop her perfect serve, which you can fine in June’s Member of the Month blog. Since then we caught up with Lily for a more in-depth take on our third annual Club Member Collaboration.
Q1 How would you describe Mandu Gin?
It is very different, there’s a tingle at first then warmth and it finishes with a lovely sweetness. It is quite a savoury gin but very very lovely.
Q2 what food pairing would you recommend with Mandu Gin and tonic?
A lovely spicy stir fry or citrusy salad.
Q3 What inspired you to choose black garlic, chilli and ginger?
My dad loves to experiment with flavours and black garlic is an interesting one (he has made black garlic ice cream in the past) and as he has been unwell recently I wanted to do this for him 🙂
Q4 With the botanicals you submitted, Ryan chose a Korean route, but what did you have in mind as complimentary botanicals?
I thought standard gin botanicals plus a lot of citrus and Thai basil. This is however a lot nicer than I could have imagined!
Q5 The botanicals you submitted are bold and savoury, is this your preferred style of spirit and are there any Batch gins you’ve had which suit this preference?
I don’t particularly have a preferred style of spirit but one my favourites was Buddhas hand gin – incredible!
Q6 This is our third year of the Club Member Collaboration, how long have you been an Innovations Club member and what first drew you to the Club?
I’ve been there from the start! I have had a break as I had my twins but back with it now. I think it’s a fab way to try spirits you might not normally go for, learn what you like and don’t like, and I really enjoy trying new ones with my family.
Artwork
Mandu Gin has a distinct style created by Graphic Design student, Cameron Mckenzie, who has worked with us to produce all the design materials for this special release. Cameron was inspired by Korean lino printing and actually hand carved the “Mandu Gin” typleface into lino! For the rest of the label, Cameron went down a literal route, photographing the botanicals used in distillation, then manipulating to suit his desired style. We love the colour-way in June’s label, the muted tones emulate Korean artwork.
Serve
Serve over ice, top with Indian tonic and garnish with a thin slice of ginger and wild garlic flowers and leaves.
Cocktail
Try out a Seoul Mule! This month’s Club cocktail is a Korean take on the Moscow Mule.
You will need:
50ml Mandu Gin
15ml yuzu juice (or 15ml freshly squeezed grapefruit juice)
100ml alcoholic ginger beer.
Ice
Lime
Chilli
Method:
Fill a mule mug with ice. Add the gin and yuzu juice/ grapefruit juice. and top with alcoholic ginger beer. Garnish with a slice of lime and a sliced chilli – as Club member Lily recommends, why not pair with spicy stir fry or citrusy salad.
Need June’s gin and not a member of our Innovations Club? Become a member now and get £10 off your first month here.
