McQueen Gin

When I say McQueen to you what first springs to mind? Well if you’re me, probably an image of Steve McQueen from the Thomas Crown Affair, in a Prince of Wales check suit and those classic folding Persol sunglasses.

Soon though that image could change, a couple of distillers from Scotland are aiming to replace McQueen from the king of cool to the king of gin.

McQueen gin is handcrafted in Callander, by the dynamic duo of Dale and Vicky McQueen (now the name makes perfect sense). The gin itself is made in the London fashion, using Holstein equipment. For those not in the know (and why not?) Holstein is a German producer of fine distillery equipment.

So far so normal, another new gin to try – but what makes this company standout from the crowd? In the makers own words they have not over complicated matters, with botanicals numbering in single figures, but using only the finest ingredients.

The actually flavours that are distilled are what first intrigued me about McQueen, and makes them rather unique at the moment, upon launch their gin will be available in four flavours; Chocolate Mint, Sweet Citrus, Mocha and Smokey Chilli.
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Whilst flavoured vodka has now become somewhat de rigueur, the move of flavoured gin is rather new. What gin purists will say I don’t know, but I thought it was better to taste before I judged.

If you want to know what I thought, read on intrepid followers, if not you’re probably on the wrong page – I apologise for the inconvenience. 

​I shall treat all the flavours as separate entities, but as a base line I will say all the gins are very low on the juniper taste, perhaps deliberately left subtle as not to overshadow the key flavour. The lack of juniper perhaps makes them much closer to the taste of vodka than a gin so probably not suited to those looking for that classic gin taste and experience

Chocolate Mint 5/10

Let’s start with my least favourite, the chocolate mint. This is by no means the fault of McQueen, I’m just not a fan of mint.

The drink is certainly fresh and not overly minted, perhaps those looking to make a twist on the classic Mojito could replace white rum with minted gin?

Mocha 6/10

Next up we have coffee inspired Mocha, again not a flavour at the top of my list. It has a strong roasted coffee nose and a bittersweet burnt coffee taste when mixed with tonic.

​ It put me in mind of a windy day near the Nestle factory.

Smokey Chilli 6/10

The smokey chilli has a somewhat earthy taste to it. The chilli is more sweet than spicy so don’t be put off from fear of heat. When mixed with tonic it pronounces the earthiness and brings out a sweet background zing.

Sweet Citrus 7/10

Sweet citrus, a taste that works so well with gin. As you can imagine it’s very citrusy on the nose. With tonic it really brings out the sweetness, you’ll almost think you’re drinking lemonade instead of tonic, and who doesn’t like alcoholic lemonade?

To summarise, McQueen have tried their hand at making something new for the gin market, and they’ve certainly succeeded, you’ll be hard pushed to find these flavours somewhere else. They would certainly attract the gin virgin to have a go and perhaps give the gin lover something new to think about. To me the gin is a little too low in juniper and is perhaps bordering on flavoured vodka territory. Judging it purely as a drink rather than a gin it’s certainly enjoyable, particularly the sweet citrus which is perfect for a long hot summer’s day.

McQueen Gin is scheduled to launch on 3rd June 2016

All flavours are £29.99

http://www.mcqueengin.co.uk/shop/