Salcombe Gin Rose Sainte Marie

A dry pink gin from the south coast of Devon, made in homage to a nineteenth-century shipping route.

A 70cl bottle of London Dry-style rosé gin, distilled in Salcombe at the Boathouse distillery on the harbour by Salcombe Distilling Co. Founded in 2014 by Howard Davies and Angus Lugsdin, two sailors who met at the local sailing club and ended each day with a gin and tonic on the water.

The name traces back to Salcombe's lost trade. In the nineteenth century, the town's fruit schooners — small, fast sailing boats built for speed — ran citrus fruit and herbs from the Mediterranean back to England's ports. They marked their southern entry to the Old Port of Marseille by the Sainte Marie lighthouse. The gin recreates that route in flavour: Macedonian juniper for backbone, fresh lemon and orange peels hand-peeled each morning before distillation, lemon verbena, rose petals, orange blossom, pink peppercorns, angelica, and unsweetened English strawberries for the natural pink hue.

No added sugar. The gin takes its character from the dry rosé wines of Provence rather than the sweet pink gins it sits among on the shelf. The result is a delicate, layered gin — lavender and rose on the nose, soft red fruit on the palate, citrus on the finish.

Bottled at 41.4% ABV. Double Gold winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition — one of only two pink gins ever to receive the award.

For a gin and tonic with a slice of strawberry and a twist of lemon peel. For a spritz with prosecco and soda. For a dry martini, served cold.

Salcombe Distilling run a refill scheme: empty 70cl bottles can be refilled at the distillery itself, at the Dartmouth tasting bar, at Darts Farm in Exeter, or at Barrel & Still in Kingsbridge — at a 20% discount.

70cl. Please drink responsibly.