Craft Gin Club’s Gin of the Month for February 2020 was GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin and it was distilled exclusively for Craft Gin Club members, here in the UK - on the beautiful Gower Peninsula in Wales by The Gower Gin Company.
In this feature, we are delving into the story behind this lovely spirit and the incredible Welsh gin distillery behind it, finding out from the award-winning distillers themselves just how and why they developed this tasty tipple.
GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin
GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin
43% ABV
What botanicals are in GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin:
Juniper, Coriander, Angelica, Orris Root, Fresh Pink Grapefruit Zest, Fresh Lemon Zest, Foraged Wild Fennel, Pomegranate Seeds, Red Rose Petals
What does GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin taste like:
Smooth, elegant and intriguing, this classic London Dry Gin is built upon a foundation of freshly foraged fennel. On the palate, the marriage of fruity pomegranate and floral rose takes centre stage, enhanced by a bright burst of citrus. The warm glow of the exotic flavours lingers long on the finish.
What does the name “rhamanta” mean?
Rhamanta is the ancient Welsh tradition of seeking omens about your romantic future.
This ancient custom dictates that a couple place two grains of wheat on a shovel and hold it over a roaring fire. As the shovel heats up, the grains swell and eventually jump off the shovel. If they jump off the shovel together, it means they’ve found a partner for life, but if they jump off in different directions, the couple in question has some serious thinking to do.
“I love that rhamanta is also like a command in Welsh. It means ‘be romantic’. That’s what we’d like people to think of when drinking our GŴYR Rhamanta Gin, and sharing it with family, friends and partners. ”
As GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin was originally intended for Craft Gin Club’s February 2020 Gin of the Month, the name was chosen because it was the perfect fit for Valentine’s Day, reflecting The Gower Gin Company’s choice of rose petals and pomegranate - both of which are symbols of love and effection.
How is GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin made?
The team behind GŴYR Rhamanta Gin: Siân, Carys, Conor, Owain and Andrew
GŴYR Rhamanta London Dry Gin is made by The Gower Gin Company, a multi-award-winning micro-distillery founded by husband-and-wife team Siân and Andrew Brooks.
The Gower Gin Company started out with the original GŴYR Gin as a base. They then dialled down the aromatic flavour of wild fennel, which is foraged locally, to make way for ingredients that would capture the essence of rhamanta, like rose petals and pomegranate.
Roses are synonymous with love and Valentine’s today of course, but pomegranate has its own history of romance too. In mythology pomegranates were called love apples and, from the Greek tale of Persephone to the story of the Garden of Eden, the fruit has been a symbol of love, fertility and power across centuries and cultures.
All of these gorgeous botanicals are distilled together at the Gower distillery and then bottled for gin fans to enjoy.
The botanicals in GŴYR Rhamanta Gin are all inspired by Wales in some way
Where are Gower gins made?
The Gower distillery sits at the bottom of the Siân and Andrew Brooks’ back garden on the coast of the Welsh peninsular of Gower, overlooking the Bristol Channel.
It’s an Arcadian setting that gin fans can visit and settle down with a G&T to drink in the surrounding beauty of Gower.
““Nothing gives us more pleasure than seeing our gins being enjoyed locally. People often come to sit, stay and taste for hours, putting the world to rights.
”When the sun shines there is no more idyllic place to be, and we’ve made some great friends that way. It really is like inviting someone into the family!””
Fennel and other botanicals for the gin grow wild along the dunes of the Gower Peninsula
How did The Gower Gin Company get started?
GŴYR gin distillers Siân and Andrew
The Gower Gin Company was started by Siân and Andrew Brooks, who were students at Bristol University when they met.
They fell in love, travelled around South America and then, eventually, got engaged one dawn at Macchu Picchu. The couple spent their early married years travelling widely and even lived in France before settling in Port Eynon in Gower to raise their three children.
The couple created a home overlooking the sea, complete with a gin garden in their backyard where they could enjoy their favourite spirit. Gin had always been something they loved to share, from the G&Ts they’d enjoyed on early dates at university to the cocktails they had quaffed as a young couple in France.
““I was handed my first ever gin and tonic in a crystal glass by a very elderly yet elegant mother of a family friend and I immediately fell in love!””
A few decades on, their infatuation with gin had bloomed into a full-blown love affair, and Andrew treated the two of them to a gin-blending course at the Ginstitute at Portobello Road Distillery in London. It started them off on a journey of gin discovery, and soon they realised that while they could try spirits from every corner of the globe, none was made with the provenance of Gower.
“We love Wales, and we wanted to create a gin that reflected the beauty of Welsh culture and language. Ever since we lived in France we’ve been very taken with the concept of terroir, which is the idea that a wine’s flavour is strongly influenced by where it’s made.
We realised we could make a gin that felt like it really belonged to Gower.” ”
When they set out to create a gin rooted in Gower, Andrew knew just the place to start: the natural larder of the peninsula!
The region’s mild climate makes this seaside spot a paradise for foragers and he’d spent years studying and eating the plants and herbs in their local area.
While there was an abundance of local botanicals to choose from, one in particular caught Andrew’s eye. A bounty of bronze and green fennel grows wild on the sand dunes of Gower, and Andrew always suspected that the plant’s aromatic fronds would work beautifully alongside citrus notes in a gin.
Andrew began foraging fennel in earnest for their first batch of gin, and he knew immediately that he wanted to be respectful to the land they call home. From the start he was committed to harvesting local botanicals sustainably, preserving the plants so that future generations could enjoy them, too.
Andrew follows the Foraging Code, which dictates that he only take the aerial parts of plants (the parts above soil), never digging up the roots and never taking more than needed from one area. That way, the plants can continue to grow and flourish for many years to come.
When it came to bottling the spirit of Gower, Siân’s love of languages grounded their gin in another way. A Welsh proverb holds that ‘cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon’, or “a nation without language is a nation without heart”. Siân knew that she could use the Welsh language to capture the beautiful heritage of Wales.
She explains, “As a language specialist, I wanted to ensure we were staying true to our Welsh heritage and respecting the Welsh language, which is so important to the identity and culture of Wales.
“Only a handful of Welsh gins take the time to create fully bilingual bottles, but that was always essential for us.”
Image: The Gower Gin Company
To make a gin that fully expressed the love they felt for Gower, the Brooks family knew they needed a space filled with the warmth and love that makes Wales such a special place.
““The word micro-distillery was invented for us - I’m not sure what the smallest distillery in Wales or the UK is, but we would surely be vying for the prize!” ”
The Gower Gin Distillery is just seven square metres and this former bike shed can only fit three or four people along with their still, Arianwen, named after the Welsh word for ‘silver spirit’.
Most days, you’ll find the Brooks family crowded around it. Everyone’s keen to experiment with locally foraged botanicals and think up Welsh names for their other new gins.
Everyone lends a helping hand, from their eldest, Tom, who’s always quick to give advice, to their son Owain, whose keenly-honed palate means he has the enviable job of chief gin taster. At only 16, their youngest daughter Carys, has become GŴYR Gin’s bottle-labeller and box-filler extraordinaire.
Sian and Andrew often joke that Conor Davies, who works with them at the distillery, has become an extra member of the family, and not only has he helped distil the rhamanta gin but also shares our deep passion for the brand.
“It’s a real joy to be able to work with our family. Since Carys’ favourite subject at school is chemistry, we hope that one day she’ll fancy becoming our master distiller. I love the idea of her leading the company one day, especially since there aren’t that many female distillers.”
Where can I buy Gower gin?
A range of The Gower Gin Company gins are available to buy on The Gower Gin Company website and at one of the best Gower gin stockists, Craft Gin Club’s online shop, including Gower Wassail Gin, Gower Bara Brith Gin, Gower Original Gin, their brand-new GŴYR Sunflower Gin and a range of Gower gin miniatures that are perfect for Gower gin gifts.
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