gin no. 040 – Summer GiNS

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• Summer GiNS was a limited release gin from Compass Distillers in Halifax, Canada.
• I tried and purchased this gin at the distillery on August 4, 2019.
• This gin is made entirely from wheat and botanicals sourced around Nova Scotia.

In 2019, our family trip was to Nova Scotia. On the morning of August 4, we visited the Halifax Citadel. There I picked up a bottle of Noon Gun Gin, no. 039, which is made by Compass Distillers. Later that day we visited the distillery and there I did a tasting of five gins that included Summer GiNS. I decided to buy a small bottle of it as well.

Summer GiNS was a limited production gin that is no longer available. Our bottle is Batch 1, though I’m not sure if a second batch was ever made. The capitalized “NS” stands for Nova Scotia because it is made from entirely Nova Scotian ingredients. Distilled from that wheat grows in the Annapolis Valley it is infused with botanicals including: juniper, peaches, plums, Queen Anne’s Lace, wild rose petals, golden rod, ginger, chanterelle mushrooms, red clover, elderberries, & sweet fern. It has an ABV of 45%.

I finally opened the bottle on January 17, 2025. Tasting it neat, the flavors are earthy. The mushroom is evident as is the ginger. The stone fruit was muted providing richness, but not brightness. Next, I tried it in a gin and tonic and was less impressed. That’s not how best to enjoy it. Last, I served it in a very dry martini, and it was an excellent gin. It’s very unfortunate they don’t make it anymore, and very unfortunate that I only have about 150ml left.

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