Big Climb – Zealot’s Heart Gin

When doing the Brewdog Spirits tasting in Summer, the Zealot’s Heart Gin lastingly impressed me. So, I had to give it another try and mix some cocktails with it. Of course, most people would just mix a Gin & Tonic with it – which I also did. However, I rather went for a White Negroni variation with the rather extraordinary Mount Rigi liqueur from Switzerland.

As mentioned in the previous article on the Brewdog Spirits, the Zealot’s Heart Gin is their ode to juniper. It took the guys behind Brewdog’s master distiller Steven Kersley 197 tries to get the recipe where they wanted it. For the Zealot’s Heart they distilled juniper from the US, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, just to settle on the one from Italy as their favourite. On top of that, they used five times more juniper berries than with their Lonewolf bottling. All in all, the Zealot’s Heart includes 17 botanicals, such as juniper, coriander, angelica root, orris root, Thai lemongrass, grapefruit peel, lavender, all spice, goji berries, meadowsweet, lemon peel, lime peel, mace, Makrut lime leaves, Szechuan peppercorns, Sansho peppercorns and grains of paradise. As you can see from this list, the gin also heavily relies on different pepper varieties.

Backing spices and juniper

Usually I would complain here that the gin could use a higher ABV or something like that. However, I do not know what it is about the Zealot’s Heart Gin, maybe the beautiful blue bottle, or the artistic label, but I just love it! It is concentrated with clear juniper notes and at the same time it is the most spicy gin I have ever tasted. Although this is a classic London Dry Gin, for juniper purists it might even be too spicy. Nevertheless, in my opinion it is the perfect gin for the colder days of the year. Surprisingly, the combination with the Fentiman’s Pink Grapefruit Tonic worked very well. Otherwise, I would have paired the Zealot’s Heart with a drier more subtle tonic water, but its bald notes can definitely stand up to it!

White Negroni? 

Well, to call the drink a White Negroni is a bit of a stretch here. It actually is a variation of a White Negroni variation. Apart from that, the White Negroni itself is a variation of the – I guess you got my point by now. Yet, the interesting thing is that the liqueur in this classic three ingredient cocktail does not necessarily have to be bitter. For instance, the White Negroni also works if you replace the Suze with Italicus. So, I just replaced the Italicus with Mount Rigi and called it a day… The Mount Rigi is a Swiss herbal liqueur, which is somehow atypical for Alpine herbal liqueurs. It neither is bitter, nor overwhelmingly herbal. Instead, is has a nice balance of cherry fruitiness, herbal notes and a distinct caramel sweetness.

The drink is very pleasant to drink. It almost goes down too easy. There is a noticeable sweetness which is accompanied by juniper, spices and slightly herbal notes. As always the Mancino Bianco does an excellent job in binding the different flavours together. Of course, if you are looking for the bitter bite of a real Negroni-style drink, the “Big Climb” is not for you. However, it beautifully transfers you in an Alpine setting where you can enjoy its nicely balanced herbal notes.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The gin was provided by Kirsch Whisky, the Mount Rigi by Tender Spirits and the glass by J. & L. Lobmeyr.