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Glendalough Rose Gin
About Glendalough Rose Gin
Glendalough Rose Gin is a unique spirit from Glendalough Distillery, an Irish whiskey and gin distillery from Wicklow, Ireland. They label themselves as the first Irish craft distillery and only use local and sustainable ingredients that honor the Irish landscape.
All of the botanicals in Glendalough Rose Gin are from Wicklow and the head distiller, Rowdey Rooney, and his family are responsible for the rose flavor. The Wild roses, heritage roses and Damask roses are all hand picked by Rooney’s sister, Geraldine Kavanagh, from their late mother’s house. They both have their signatures on the front label of the bottle which is a nice touch. The roses are added to the botanicals in the distillate to naturally create the pink color. After distilling, more rose is infused to create Glendalough’s preferred balance of flavors.
Bottle Specs
❖ Spirit: Irish Gin
❖ Distillery: Glendalough Distillery
❖ ABV: 41%
❖ Moderate Price
Tasting Notes
Tasting notes from Glendalough
❖ Nose: Very Aromatic, with soft juniper notes, perfumed with fresh rose
❖ Taste: Gentle sweet spice, with distinct rose petal, bright berries, citrus with a nectar sweetness
❖ Finish: long, floral, rose petals
My Tasting Notes
❖ Color: Pink
❖ Nose: Citrus, juniper, subtle sweetness from the rose, pine, some kind of berry
❖ Taste: My first thought-“This taste just like a forest.” There are many more botanicals I wasn’t able to place but pine and juniper are very strong at first. Then there are soft floral notes, rose and elderflower.
❖ Finish: long, rose, lemon, juniper
Cocktail
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TOM COLLINS
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Lemon Juice
2 oz Gin
Club Soda
Lemon Wedge
❖ Add Simple syrup, Lemon and Gin in a shaker
❖ Add ice and shake for about 15 seconds or until chilled
❖ Strain into a collins glass filled with as much ice as possible
❖ Top with club soda and stir gently to combine, about three rotations
❖ Garnish with lemon wedge
I will usually make a Tom Collins for me and my partner when we want something simple and refreshing. It’s also a good platform for experimentation. I like to try adding fresh seasonal fruits or maybe a new liqueur.
I was hoping the Glendalough Rose Gin would make pretty cocktails and I was not disappointed. The lemons I used were a bit more yellow than usual but I was still able to get a beautifully vibrant pink in this cocktail. I was also pleased with the overall balance in flavor. The pine and juniper notes mixed well with the lemon juice and there was a nice floral sweetness from the rose. I do wish I could’ve tasted a few more of the botanicals but that didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the cocktail.
I also used Glendalough in the Gin and Tonic recipe from the Roku review and it was also delicious.
Bottom Line
RATING: 4/5
I’m usually weary of flavored spirits but I’m really impressed with Glendalough Rose Gin. The rose flavor is balanced well with the other botanicals and doesn’t have any artificial qualities that can sometimes be found in flavored spirits.
I also appreciate when the spirit is able to live up to the marketing. Most of the Glendalough marketing talks about honoring Ireland and I think this comes through in the final product. While i was drinking this gin, I could imagine the Glendalough Valley despite never visiting Ireland.
The price and availability of Glendalough Rose Gin is one of the only drawbacks. My partner was able to purchase this bottle from Wine.com for $32. I think this a decent value but I’m not sure I would feel good about paying much more. Especially if you are primarily buying it to mix in cocktails.
I wasn’t able to find much current information on availability so there is a chance that it might be hard to get a bottle. I saw some press releases that stated it was available in the UK and in a handful of US states.
But I would definitely get another bottle of Glendalough Rose gin and now want to try some other Glendalough products.
As always, drink responsibly.
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Such an inspiring story where the family are all involved in the process, from picking the wild roses, etc. It’s nice to know that not everything these days is mass-produced in a huge factory! Oh, and your Tom Collins looks delicious 🙂
I love the color and adding fresh seasonal fruits would be a great idea!
I think the fact that this has floral notes sounds really intriguing! I like that you have a recipe included with it so we know some thing that is a go to to make! Thank you so much for sharing