Portsmouth Distillery Fort Gin is a maritime-influenced Hampshire gin made at Fort Cumberland, located at Eastney Point, at the entrance to Langstone Harbour.
Portsmouth Distillery was established in 2018 by ex-Navy officers Vince Noyce and Giles Collighan, and Dich Oatley, who spent many years working in the wine trade. Vince and Giles shared a mutual love of rum, and the distillery was founded to make a Portsmouth Rum.
Indeed, a Portsmouth White rum and a spiced rum called Cinnabar (after the Cinnabar moth found at the fort) were re. For the patient, these will be followed by barrel-aged rums in due course. The rums are made from sugar cane juice from Costa Rica.
In the meantime, the guys have produced the fantastic Fort Gin. It is handcrafted in small batches (approximately 150 litres) at the fort and is distilled using two stills, a 500-litre pot still made in China, nicknamed Sophie Wu, and a 4-plate column still.
The botanicals were inspired by foraging around the fort and include locally foraged Elderflower, Gorse Flowers and Sea Radish (Raphanus maritimus). Alongside these locally maritime-influenced coastal botanicals, the other botanicals include Juniper (of course), Lime, Sweet Orange, Red Peppercorns and Szechuan Pepper.
The presentation is very smart and has lots of references to Fort Cumberland and Portsmouth. A plan of Fort Cumberland is the main feature of the label, which also features the Portsmouth Star and Crescent Coat of Arms. There is a hidden map of Langstone Harbour inside the bottle, which is topped with a copper stopper, a nod to the copper stills.
Portsmouth Distillery Fort Gin is bottled at 41% ABV, and when I asked why, I was told it is because 4 + 1 = 5, and it represents the pentagonal design of Fort Cumberland.
Fort Gin has now been joined by two other gins: Tudor Gin, inspired by and made with botanicals which were discovered when The Mary Rose was excavated, and Tudor Cherry Gin, the same gin but flavoured with cherry juice. All three gins are available to buy at Fareham Wine Cellar.
Portsmouth Distillery Fort Gin has a lovely aromatic nose. There are cool, menthol juniper aromas with hints of spicy pepper, orange citrus, floral notes, warm honey nuances and a slightly salty tang reminiscent of sea breeze. It is full in the mouth with warming, spicy flavours with coriander spice (or perhaps the Szechuan pepper) shining through with a good dollop of zesty lime character. It has a pleasingly silky, viscous mouthfeel. There is a touch of sweetness on the mid-palate, but it finishes dry with a gently warming and lingering spicy finish.
The recommended serve for Fort Gin is a good tonic, Fever Tree perhaps, loads of ice garnished with lime.
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