Introducing The Halkin Gin

Juniper-forward, focusing its neat balance between well-pronounced herbal nuance, citrus complexity and warm, gentle spice. Our gin has a clean, crisp finish whether tasted neat, poured over ice with our suggested tonic pairings, or mixed in a martini to draw out more of the botanical flavours. I like to describe the taste as herbaceous, smooth, and imbued with modern elegance.

It’s designed to reflect the essence of Belgravia: elegant, refined and sophisticated. We serve it exclusively at COMO The Halkin, so you won’t find it anywhere else. And it seems we’re not the only ones that are excited about the launch: The Halkin Gin has just been awarded a Gold medal by a panel of judges at The Drinks Business, Gin Masters blind tasting.

London Dry Gin is a standard of quality, with a regulatory framework stipulating specific production techniques. The Halkin Gin follows a precise model to meet these requirements. To begin with, the base spirit is chosen. This is usually derived from grains such as barley, rye, wheat or corn distilled to high purity. We use a predominantly wheat mash as the base — it reacts better with the harder water you find in the south of England. Next, we choose and pick our botanicals from an organic farm in rural Devon. The primary botanical is always juniper berries, which must be prominent in the flavour profile, then other plants are added for layers and complexity. 

We distil our botanicals with the base spirit for around an hour, in a process called maceration. Afterwards, we transfer the macerated spirit to a still for distillation. At the end of that process, you’re left with three parts: heads, hearts and tails. The heads is the initial distillate; it’s the volatile part — what you don’t want to put into the final product. Hearts is the middle portion, which contains the condensed botanical flavours and the alcohol. Tails is the final portion, which has the heavier compounds, which are cycled into the next batch of gin.

At this point, the gin is nearly ready. We take the hearts, and dilute it to the desired strength, then filter out any impurities. We then bottle The Halkin Gin without adding any additional sweetening or flavouring.

There are 10 of them, and we wanted each to be instantly recognisable in the flavour profile of our gin. First, we selected garden rosemary and broadleaf sage for a herbal undertone with a fragrant green aroma. The garden rosemary is a particular favourite for me — it’s so quintessentially English and a very inspiring herb to work with. For a subtle sweetness and depth, we then included a fruity layer in the palate with Delight raspberries and Opal plums. We chose Eureka lemon peel and coriander seeds to add bright and zesty notes. To enhance the gin’s body and structure, we chose orris and angelica roots which give floral and earth undertones. Finally, for a hint of warm, peppery spice, we added green cardamom and cubeb.

 At COMO The Halkin, we like to let the gin do the talking. The versatility of the gin makes it fun to work with — a classic martini will bring the botanicals into sharp focus; our cocktails such as a White Negroni, Bee’s Knees or John (Tom) Collins will highlight the potency of the spirit. When we use the gin in our infusions — for instance with butterfly pea snap flower, which transforms the drink’s colour to a deep purple — the whole experience turns into an exciting spectacle. For a classic gin and tonic, our best pairings are with Mediterranean, elderflower, or classic Indian tonic water. Depending which you choose, we garnish the drink with ingredients that interact with different qualities of the gin: dehydrated blood orange, rosemary, pink peppercorn, green cardamom, fresh raspberries, and so on. The result is a perfect gin and tonic, every time. It combines subtle complexities with a crisp, clean finish — made true to COMO Hotels and Resorts standards: excellence paired with attention to detail at every stage.