Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Death’s Door (USA)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Mediterranean
Suggested garnish: A couple of sage leaves or a thin slice of fresh fennel and a slice of fresh apple

From Washington Island, Wisconsin, Death’s Door Gin has a simple botanical mix of organic juniper berries, coriander and fennel. Predominant tastes of juniper emerge up front, with spicy citrus notes from the coriander seeds next and a whack of fennel to boot. Its name comes from the body of water between Door County peninsula and the island.

Bar One also stocks: Bertha’s Revenge, Dingle Gin, Mór Gin, Conncullin Gin, Gunpowder Gin, Shortcross Gin, Blacks of Kinsale, Glendalough Seasonal, Cork Dry Gin, St Patrick's Elderflower Gin, St Patrick's Sloe & Honey Gin, Gordon's London Dry Gin, Monkey 47, Hendrick’s, Bombay Sapphire, Plymouth

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
6 O’Clock Gin (England)
Suggested tonic: Fentimans Rose Lemonade
Suggested garnish: Berries and orange peel

Named after the time of day his great-grandfather would retire to his armchair with a G&T, this strikingly smooth gin is the brain-child of Bramley & Gage’s Michael Kain. Its botanicals include winter savoury, orris root, angelica, coriander seed, elderflower, orange peel and juniper.

Bridge Street also stocks: Bertha’s Revenge, Boatyard Double Gin, Conncullin Gin, Dingle Gin, Glendalough Wild Summer, Gunpowder Gin, Ha’penny Gin, Thin Gin, Galway Gin Co Dillisk Gin, Mor Gin, Listoke Gin, Bathtub Gin, Beefeater, Bombay Sapphire, Botanist, Brockmans, Dodd’s, Gin Mare, Gordon’s Cucumber Gin, Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Hendrick’s, Monkey 47, Saffron Gin, Tanqueray London Dry Gin, Plymouth, G'Vine, Bloom Gin, Martin Miller's Gin, Ophir Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Von Hallers (Leitrim)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Indian
Suggested garnish: Grapefruit peel

Slow-distilled at The Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney in Drumshanbo with hand-picked botanicals from Germany, this gin is named after Albrecht Von Haller, a physician, poet and botanist, who established Göttingen Botanical Gardens. From these same gardens the botanicals for this gin now come. They include Halleria lucida (a small genus of ten species that occur throughout Africa, producing small, very sweet fruits and flowers full of nectar), German ginger and lemon verbena. A refreshing and fragrant gin.

The Bungalow also stocks: Gunpowder Gin, Cork Dry Gin, Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Hendrick’s, Bombay Sapphire, Monkey 47

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Thin Gin (Waterford)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Indian
Suggested garnish: Orange/lime peel, or strawberries

Floral on the front with bright bursts of citrus to finish, Thin Gin is fun, fruity and fragrant. Legend has it that when New Yorker Isacc Thin couldn’t find the exquisite gin he’d tasted in Paris (during an afternoon with the wife of an Austrian count), he set about creating his own. Hiding in Ireland from several vengeful husbands, Thin settled on 13 botanicals; one for every lady he’d kept company with on his cut-short European jaunt! They include chamomile, gorse, mugwort, wild thyme, spearmint, elder flowers, tansy, lime, apple and hawthorn.

The Castle Inn also stocks: Cork Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, Gordon’s London Dry Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Gunpowder Irish Gin (Leitrim)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Elderflower
Suggested garnish: Grapefruit or lime peel

Over the years, PJ Rigney has taken many journeys from the familiar into terra incognita. In time, those travels brought him to the wild and unspoilt landscape of Drumshanbo. And it was here that his curious mind, filled with the great oriental traditions of distilling fruit, herbs and botanicals, got to work. He created The Shed Distillery with its medieval copper pot stills, and began a quest to fuse oriental botanicals with the local Irish ones. As it turned out, they got on very well indeed. Botanicals include Gunpowder green tea.

Coady’s also stocks: Hendrick’s, Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Gin Sul (Germany)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Indian
Suggested garnish: Rosemary

As soon as Gin Sul creator Stephan Garbe returned home from holiday in the small town of Odeceixe on the west coast of Portugal, he wanted to go back. Odeceixe is home to huge juniper bushes, so Garbe quickly found a solution to bringing a taste of the country back to Germany with him. He imports juniper from Portugal and distills it to the exquisite Gin Sul. Other botanicals include laudanum, lemon peels, allspice, rose petals, cardamom, lavender, rosemary and cinnamon.

The Cobweb also stocks: Gunpowder Gin, Dingle Gin, Cork Dry Gin, 6 O’Clock Gin, Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, Bombay Sapphire East, Tanqueray London Dry Gin, Hendrick’s

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Whitley Neill (England)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Indian
Suggested garnish: Pink grapefruit peel

Inspired by Africa and made in England, Whitley Neill Handcrafted Dry Gin skilfully blends and balances rare African botanicals and unusual aromatics, to create an enigmatic experience to savour. Bringing together a mix of nine botanicals including cape gooseberries and baobab fruit, it also combines more traditional botanicals such as coriander, lemon and orange peel, angelica root, cassia bark and orris root. This multi award-winning small batch gin is distilled in a 100-year-old antique copper still named ‘Constance’!

The Connaught Inn also stocks: Gunpowder Gin, Cork Dry Gin, Hendrick’s, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Conncullin (Mayo)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Elderflower
Suggested garnish: Strawberries

Conncullin is the first gin from our close neighbours at the Connacht Distillery, on the banks of the beautiful River Moy in Ballina. A signature blend of juniper supported by hawthorn, elderberry and other botanicals marry to form a complex flavour profile. It has a beautiful berry nose but finishes big and bold with nice juniper notes and hints of citrus. This Ballina gin’s name derived from two local lakes which provide water to the distillery – Lough Conn and Lough Cullin.

The Irish House also stocks: Gunpowder Gin, Cork Dry Gin, Dingle Gin, Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, Hendrick’s

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Brockmans Intensely Smooth (England)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Indian
Suggested garnish: Blackberries or raspberries

This is a wonderfully fruity, very smooth gin with a unique style. It was created by a group of friends with the intention of making a gin ‘like no other’ – one that was so smooth you would happily drink it neat over ice. The finest botanicals are sourced from all over the world (Italian juniper and orris, liquorice from China, cassia bark, angelica, blackberries and blueberries, Spanish almonds, lemon and orange peel, and Bulgarian coriander). The result is well balanced and full of flavour.

Johnny McHale’s also stocks: Gunpowder Gin, Cork Dry Gin, Dingle Gin, Blackwater No 5, Hendrick’s, Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Bertha’s Revenge Irish Milk Gin (Cork)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Elderflower
Suggested garnish: Orange peel

‘Big Bertha’ was a legendary Droimeann cow from Sneem in Co Kerry. When she died on New Year’s Eve in 1993, just three months shy of her 49th birthday, she had become something of a local celebrity. Over the course of her long life she had given birth to 39 calves. Her wake was held in the Blackwater Tavern. To immortalise her memory, Ballyvolane House Spirits Co brought her back in spirit – literally! Using whey alcohol from dairy farmers in Cork, along with locally foraged and grown botanicals, this gin highlights the character of Bertha in her prime. All is not butter that comes from the cow!

Mick Byrne’s also stocks: Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Cork Dry Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Shortcross Gin (Down)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Elderflower
Suggested garnish: Orange peel and mint sprig

Rademon Estate Distillery in Co Down aspired to create something unique and reminiscent of its surrounding forests and gardens in the making of Shortcross Gin. Dense, lush, verdant and alive with nature, it’s a playground of botanicals, from which they drew their inspiration. Wild clover, elderflowers and elderberries combine to create both uplifting floral notes and smooth sweet flavours, while green apples contribute fresh aromas and lively sweet notes. Other botanicals in the mix include juniper coriander, orange and cassia.

Mulroy’s also stocks: Conncullin Gin, Gunpowder Gin, Dingle Gin, Cork Dry Gin, Hendrick’s, Gordon’s London Dry Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
Mór Gin (Offaly)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Indian
Suggested garnish: Lime peel and raspberries

An adventurous spirit for the adventurous of spirit, Mór is governed by local botanicals and they change as the seasons do. As flavours drift in and out of season, Arderin Distillery in Tullamore tailors its production. Editions come and go but every single one is rooted in a united ethos – to expertly, respectfully and creatively make the best gin possible. Earthy root botanicals, subtle florals and vivid raspberry notes come together to create Mór. The sharp sweetness of juniper and angelica root meet citrus sharpness of coriander, all graced by floral rosemary notes and Slieve Bloom mountain water.

Rocky’s also stocks: Gordon’s London Dry Gin, Cork Dry Gin

Castlebar Gin Trail Featured Gin:
St Patrick’s Elderflower Potato Gin (Cork)
Suggested tonic: Fever-Tree Elderflower or Indian
Suggested garnish: Lemon peel and basil

This award-winning gin from St Patrick’s Distillery in Co Cork has its orgins in the humble spud. Its base is potato spirit, distilled from Lady Claire and Rosetta potato varieties, giving it a unique taste, aroma and smoother mouth-feel. The added bonus of a grain-free distillation is that the spirit is also naturally gluten free. This is a delicately perfumed and flavoured gin, smooth and refreshing on the palate. The nose is reminiscent of summer gardens, and the taste profile is sweet herbal, with a long finish. It can also an be enjoyed neat over ice.

Tolster’s also stocks: Conncullin Gin, Cork Dry Gin, Bombay Sapphire, Gordon’s London Dry Gin