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Discover, Sip, Repeat: Your Adventure Begins Here
We have stocked this delightful gin produced by a husband and wife team for over a year and haven't yet featured them in our ‘Spotlight On’ series! What were we thinking! It is definitely overdue! So in this week’s blog we discover the inspiration for this gin, what is inside the bottle and exciting new products they are launching!
There is nothing we like more than local artisan craft gins and this producer, based in Lichfield, keeps blowing us away with each new product launch! The company began its life in 2020 and is run by beekeeping couple Alex and Natalie Conti. During the first lockdown they decided to expand their home apiary in an effort to connect more with the outdoors and with their children.
They found themselves in an act of serendipity. They had produced excess honey and were looking for a solution for its use. Instead of going down the traditional route and popping it into jars they decided to combine it with their favourite tipple, gin!
They decided to work with a local distillery to distill a gin packed with heavy lemon and citrus elements, perfect for blending with the rich honey. To this they infuse their home produced honey as well as the world’s most expensive tea, Da Hong Pao. The delightful combination of lemon, honey and tea, what could be better! It is a gin that works beautifully with tonic water, blends perfectly in cocktails such as the Bee’s Knees, but really comes into its own this time of year in a gin hot toddy!
With this gin proving very popular, with drinkers loving its easy drinking style, the couple were keen to expand their portfolio of tipples. Inspired by the beauty of spring and their love of foraging they launched the aptly named ‘Forager Edition’. This pink gin is a blend of their honey as well as a tea inspired by the hedgerows. The gin fuses a beautiful balance of botanicals from the gin and the tea such as blackberries, elderberries and strawberry leaves.
What started as a small beekeeping project has now grown into a larger project. This summer the couple developed a pollinator friendly planting scheme ‘bee forest’ and ‘adopt a hive scheme’, in a bid to promote biodiversity in their community. With the scheme being such a success we asked Alex what his plans are. Alex added “we are expanding the apiary next spring and looking for land to expand our forest project. The pilot was great but we need more space.”
This month in the shop we saw the launch of their brand new gin, Propolis. You may be wondering what is in the name and what propolis is? It is a natural resin material that is produced by bees from tree sap and beeswax. Originally used as a product that is beneficial to health, the team behind The Apiarist have used it to create a classic London Dry Gin. It has a wonderful natural freshness, a light floral element and light citrus flavours. Perfect in a gin martini and mixed with Indian tonic water.
We also have some breaking news from The Apiarist camp! They are moving into the world of whisky! Yes you read it here first! When we asked about new products they might be launching Alex said “We’re working on a honey infused whisky. Nobody knows about it yet so it would be an exclusive!”
We stock all of the gins online and in-store. Do give them a try as you will be blown away by the depth of flavour they have as well as being beneficial to the environment. Keep your eyes peeled for the launch of the Whisky too...
