Gin aged in barrels containing HMS Victory oak

The Isle of Wight Distillery has launched the second limited edition in its line of navy strength gins aged in oak barrels containing original wood from the HMS Victory.

The gin, which will launch on-board HMS Victory in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on 7 May 2017, also contains a “higher concentration of botanicals”, resulting in a “more intense flavour”. The Isle of Wight Distillery worked with The National Museum of the Royal Navy to create the expression and will donate a percentage of its sales to the restoration of HMS Victory. England’s only master cooper Alastair Simms created the barrels containing original HMS Victory oak in which the gin has been rested for one year. Two further editions of Isle of Wight Distillery’s Oak Aged Navy Strength Gin have been planned, one in three years’ time and one in five years. The current expression, bottled at 57% abv, is available to buy online directly from the distillery at an RRP of £45.00. As the oak aged gin trend gains pace, more experimental offerings have been launched. In May last year, Pickering’s Gin launched a collection of gins matured in single malt whisky casks from distilleries in five of Scotland’s whisky regions.