Theodore Pictish Gin, 700 ml

Product Information

Barth toyed with the idea of naming his gin after a Pictish king, or one of the four Pictish kingdoms that had banded together to form a society in the Scottish Highlands. None of it felt right. The competition is sponsored by Amorim’s Top Series unit, which specialises in the design, engineering and production of exclusive capsulated cork closures. Theodore Gin is the first release from Greenwood Distillers andfeatures16 botanicalsinspired by those that the Picts may have encountered on their travels to Scotland when they settled near the brand’s new home in the Northern Highlands A Dissertation on Mr. Hogarth's Six Prints Lately Publish'd inscrib'd to the Lord Mayor, City of London and Worshipful Court of Aldermen, 1751. Inspired by Roman writings, de Bry had depicted the Picts as powerful hunters adorned in ornate body paint. His images are striking and terrifying and elaborate and beautiful – a balanced and fascinating depiction somewhere between the demonization of the Romans and the heroic depiction the Picts themselves would have fancied. In other words, somewhere near the truth.

We don’t pretend to tell the world who the Picts were,” says Barth. “ We’re simply inspired by them, and it’s a story we want to tell the world.” Coffey TG, 'Beer Street: Gin Lane: Some Views of 18th-Century Drinking'. Q J Stud Alcohol 1966; 27: 674. Theodore has been created with guidance from perfume designer,BarnabéFillion, and is presented in a beautiful bespoke bottle and box, which features artwork of the Picts and the 16 botanicals within the gin commissioned from illustrator Carlotta Saracco.

Awards for Theodore Pictish Gin

The gin takes its name from Theodore de Bry, a 16th century engraver who brought the Picts to life through his art. While he had never met a Pict, his representations powerfully captured their intrepid identity. Theodore Pictish Gin contains 16 botanicals including pine, lavender, pomelo and bourbon vetiver. As part of the sensory experience we were given each botanical to smell in its purest form, most of them as oils, as though the gin had been deconstructed into its key components. During this we also had a glass of the gin in hand, and it was fascinating to have the botanicals right in front of us as well as the finished product. An Act for repealing certain Duties on Spirituous Liquors, and on Licences for retailing the same, and for laying other Duties on Spirituous Liquors and on Licences to retail the said Liquors, Act of Parliament 1743.

Base notes of bourbon vetiver add a smoky, woody aroma with hints of vanilla, and oolong tea delivers further green notes to complement the citrus and pine. The distinctive combination has a long finish on the palate, with delicate rose returning in waves. From bourbon vetiver and damask rose to pomelo and kaffir lime, the botanical list of Theodore Pictish Gin is like nothing else on the gin shelf. A flavour profile like no other Whereas the Drinking of Spirituous Liquors or Strong Waters is becoming very common, especially amongst the People of lower and Inferior Ranks, the constant and excessive Use whereof tends greatly to the Destruction of their Healths rendying them unfit for useful Labour and Business, Debauching their Morals, and inciting them to perpetrate all manner of Vices. . . 2A pamphlet entitled A Dissertation on Mr. Hogarth's Six Prints lately Publish'd contributed to contemporary comment on the subject. 6 This pamphlet was inscribed to the 'Lord Mayor, City of London and Worshipful Court of Aldermen' (1751) and contained a 'Genuine Narrative of the horrible Deeds perpetrated by the fiery Dragon, GIN...' In the Dissertation, the Bishop of Worcester asks,

These verses, written by William Hogarth's friend and collaborator, the Rev. James Townley, accompany the artist's print, Gin Lane. Alcohol abuse is hardly a uniquely modern problem - Hogarth's print depicts the results of such abuse in the eighteenth century and highlights many of its social consequences. I asked an 8th-generation English master distiller to do a London Dry Base,” Barth says. “Then we started to discuss with our olfactory expert how to elevate and add complexity to that base by using botanicals that can’t classically be distilled using the one shot method, where everything is distilled at the same time. That’s why this gin is truly an intercultural collaboration – we try to take the best from each culture and share knowledge.” Then will come the icy clarity of juniper and pine, two flavours which enhance each other. Lavender is at play here – though it’s so subtle you might not even taste it. “Quite often a distilled botanical or essential oil smells very different from the plant itself,” he says. “Lavender is one of the best examples of that; in our case, it gets a very herbaceous, green quality rather than the usual floral aroma. For us, that’s what links the green notes to the rose and chamomile, which is really the heart of the gin.” A limited-edition batch of the gin has been produced as the result of a transcultural collaboration with Master Blenders from, and liquid produced in, Cognac and London, then blended and bottled in Scotland.Following this batch, Theodore Gin will be the first spirit produced at the new Ardross Distillery. There are sixteen botanicals in total: juniper, angelica, coriander, cardamom, pink pepper, orris, honey, lavender, pomelo, chamomile, ginger, oolong tea, damask rose, lime leaf, bourbon vetiver and pine. Any Gin fan worth their salt will spot a few familiar faces, but more than that they’ll notice a whole raft of recognisable flavours, albeit those that haven’t necessarily been put together before in Gin form. Consider our interests raised…Theodore Pictish Gin aims to bring the two worlds a step closer together, with founder Barthelemy Brosseau recruiting a perfume designer and two master distillers to help him create a Gin that flirts around the edges of the past, telling the story of the Pictish people and the man who chiselled them into the history books, Theodore De Bry.