All of us at the Gentlemen Distillers Ltd are or have been musicians playing in brass bands and concert bands. Most of our friends come from banding and it has certainly shaped our lives. Being part of a band is like having a second family, there is no room for one-upmanship or treading on other people’s toes, everyone has their own part to play and it is important that that part goes in just right. The same goes for gin making in that everything has to be balanced just right to create the perfect harmony of flavours. 

 

Whether it is a brass band playing at a village fête, an orchestra performing at a proms concert, or a military band marching down the street: making great music to fit any occasion is a British institution and what better way to celebrate these symbols of national pride than with a crisp gin and tonic in hand?

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Bandsman Gin is not a London Dry, indeed it is not technically a redistilled gin at all. We use a very old method known as cold compounding to create our gin. While most gin production sees the spirit evaporated and passed through a filter containing the botanicals in order to flavour the vapour before recondensing it, our method involves flavouring the spirit in its liquid form with a combination of fresh and dried botanicals. This allows us to create a robustly flavoured gin with an unusual smoothness to it. A byproduct of this is Bandsman's striking pale lemon colour so if you are surprised when you first pour your first glass of Bandsman, don't worry, it isn't meant to be completely clear!

 

We have poured our pride and love into Bandsman Gin to create a crisp, fresh tasting spirit with strong juniper overtones harkening back to the original genever brought over partly by Dutch sailors hundreds of years ago. Elderflower from Belvoir Fruit Farms gives a delightful sweetness to the palate and compliments our unusual ingredient of fresh British tomatoes which hands a smooth, almost creamy taste to the gin allowing it to be enjoyed with a variety of mixers.

 

Talk of mixers brings us to the signature serve of Bandsman Gin: 

 

Whatever you fancy!

 

We feel that Bandsman is a very versatile gin that can be enjoyed with tonic, lemonade, ginger ale, or just on its own with some ice. If you like your G&T with a slice of lemon, then have it with a slice of lemon. If you just want a drink after a long day at work then pour a slug of Bandsman into your favourite glass, top it up with tonic, and you have a good, honest gin and tonic that will do you proud.