TONIC REVIEW: Find out if Walter Gregor has “ae fond kiss” on Burns Night
To celebrate Burns Night, a little bit of experimentation with a liquid accompaniment for the haggis.
I’ve gathered three Scottish potato-based spirits and the recently launched neep-flavoured tonic water from Walter Gregor, the Aberdeenshire mixer maker. The vodka and gin I’ve lined up both come from not far away … Angus. There’s Ogilvy Vodka and a gin from Arbikie.
Crack open the Walter Gregor bottle and the aroma of neeps does hit you … and there’s a nice fizz. You smell the neeps as you taste the tonic but it is not overpowering, giving a slight sweetness. And it is rather nice neat.
Using neeps from her neighbour’s farm, Claire Rennie, Walter Gregor’s founder, has created the world’s first neep tonic water. Claire explains: “We discovered that the infused tonic had a delicious clear, crisp citrus flavour with an aroma of neep. We use an all-natural production process to create a softer bubble in our tonics which allows the flavours to sing. I think it makes the perfect Burns Night aperitif, served with a haggis bon-bon.”
Next to try: the Ogilvy Vodka. This sample comes from No 14 Pub Field and, having visited the farm near Glamis this time last year, I know this land will almost certainly be within sight of the distillery. The vodka is creamy and smooth so I expect the tonic will shine and it does – it makes a creamy mouthful with the tonic, with the neeps lingering there.
It’s an unusual flavour to be drinking and makes me think that lockdown is such a pain because I’d really like to be tasting this with someone else to chew over the flavours and get their opinion.
Next up is Arbikie Distillery overlooking the Angus coast at Lunan Bay. Kirsty’s Gin is Scotland’s first farm-to-bottle gin, taking potato spirit from the family farm and hyper-local botanicals to create what always comes out as a great gin and tonic. The neaps shine again and it’s lovely and refreshing drink. I think this is my favourite combination (it was the one I added ice to after I’d finished my experimentation).
Garnish was a bit of a conundrum. I know haggis bonbon is the suggested “serve” for the vodka but I couldn’t leave the G&T with just a savoury side serving. When lemon is added to the cranked-up ice of the Kirsty’s G&T it seems to wipe out the neeps … so I obviously need to think about the garnish further.
With Arbikie gin to hand I thought AK’s Gin might be a more forceful combo. It is described as “earthy, spicy and smooth” and it feels more akin to the haggis part of my Burns Supper.
It was designed around the favourite flavours of the founders’ father Alec with black pepper, smoked cardamom and honey in the farm-grown wheat spirit.
The gin is more complex on the nose than the vodka (as you’d expect) and the botanicals engage with the neeps and the tonic. It is not as smooth a drink as the vodka cocktail and the neeps are really a little lost.
Interestingly, Walter Gregor’s neep aroma is still strong after being open a while waiting for me to make notes. And even when the tonic bottle is empty, it still smells of neeps.
Further notes: The Scottish Neep Tonic is a limited edition and only available on the Walter Gregor’s website www.waltergregors.com It is made in Aberdeenshire and contains only natural ingredients including carbonated Scottish water, Scottish neep infusion, quinine and sugar from British grown sugar beet.
Arbikie website
Ogilvy Vodka website
Tonic and vodka #gifted
The GIN CLAN 