Garnish Island Pink Gin 46% (Ilnacullin Garinish or Garnish) is the name of a small island off the town of Glengarriff in Bantry Bay. Bantry Bay is located in the south-west of Ireland and is approximately 90 km west of the city of Cork. Garnish Island was sold by the Irish War Council after the Second World War. the island was then bought by investment banks, who got an Italian landscape architect and botanist to plant the island. Due to the location in the middle of the Gulf Stream, there is a cooler climate than elsewhere at the same latitude, which means that other plants can also grow here.
The flora on Garnish Island is therefore completely unique and Garnish Island Pink Gin uses the same ingredients that can be found on the island. The island itself is now a nature reserve and really worth a visit if you are in the area. The ingredients include e.g. Hibiscus, Iris root, rose petals, cocoa (notes of dark chocolate), lemon, rosemary, thyme, and a hint of spices and notes of strawberry. This is of course in addition to juniper berries. It is all batch distilled in a copper still. Garnish Island is bottled at 46% and it is not cold filtered. Therefore, it has lots of flavor and essential oils, which can cause it to opalize (make cloudy or milky white) a bit when it is mixed with tonic/ice cream/etc. Garnish Island Pink gin gets its color and distinctive taste from a double distillation and infusion of strawberries, hibiscus and rose petals.
West Cork Distillery was founded by 3 friends in 2003: Denis McCarthy, Ger McCarthy & John O’Connell in Union Hall, in 2013 they moved to Skibbereen to be able to keep up with the production, as things were “going well” for the two former fishermen. What makes West Cork most special is that the staff helped build the distillery, as well as the equipment for malting and distillation. No other distillery in the world has the staff the same know-how as you have here, as you have helped build everything. Everything is also weighed, measured and turned to ensure that all products are top class. West Cork Distillery produces a lot of different kinds of whiskey, including single malt whiskey, but also blended whiskey, all whiskeys produced in West Cork are made with Irish grain (Barley). Gin is also produced at the West Cork Distillery, i.a. Garnish Island at 46% which tastes fantastic.
