Flavor Profile
Springfield Manor is both a winery and distillery. What you might not realize is that it’s also a lavender farm.
The manor has 2,500 plantings of lavender which span many cultivars including both English and French Lavender. The former which is used in their Springfield Manor Lavender Gin.
You might expect that a distillery that also maintains a lavender farm, may have some expertise in how to handle to delicate herb. You’d be right. Springfield Manor Lavender Gin adds their lavender via post-distillation maceration, resulting in a delicate lemon chiffon hue. But what’s most exceptional is the way that lavender’s distinctive floral, bright aroma is preserved nearly perfectly. Springfield Manor Lavender Gin smells like fresh lavender.
Lavender infusions aren’t anything new. Several other distilleries across the U.S. in particular have played with the delicate herb; however, none have done so and somehow only captured the fleeting, beautiful top notes, and none of the muddier, earthier notes that often come along with maceration. I would have said before that the latter merely came with the territory. Springfield Manor Lavender Gin proved me wrong and wowed me in the process.
Tasting Notes
The nose is intensely fresh lavender. It reminds me of a lavender field at its height of bloom. The nose is clear and literal.
But the palate is where the complexity and depth of the spirit emerges. It’s not lavender alone like the nose. Springfield Manor Lavender Gin delivers with a creamy, well rounded gin as well.
Pine-forward juniper on the tip of the tongue. Citrus notes begin to develop on the sides of the tongue. I’m getting primarily lemon notes here along with the blossoming of the lavender and some rose-like nuance. A creamy vanilla and cinnamon tinged backbone comes to life behind the lavender. Towards the finish, you’re still getting notes of tonka bean and lavender at the front of the palate while the rest of the mouth is bathed in a classic dry juniper-backed gin finish.
The finish itself is quite long, with lavender lasting for quite some time, but that tonka bean, vanilla and pink peppercorn note lasting even longer than that.
It’s delightfully balanced with an incredible amount of depth. Certainly, this gin is a love letter to lavender. But Springfield Manor Lavender Gin has so much more going on.
The Gin Wife’s take: “Smells so strongly of Lavender.” “This is for people who really love lavender.”
Cocktails
The hue is subtle, but will be noticeable in cocktails like the Martini and highballs like the Gin and Tonic. Fortunately, they’re both excellent. I love the way the quinine complements the lavender here. The same goes for wormwood from Vermouth. Springfield Manor Lavender Gin seems genuinely elevated by a touch of bitterness. It’s so good neat, that you might find a relatively simple preparation like a Pink Gin, especially with the gin chilled, to be exactly what you need on a warm summer day.
I prefer drinking it neat. The gentle aroma and flavor is good enough to be appreciated on its own.
Overall
If you’re a fan of lavender, Springfield Manor Lavender Gin should be a “must-find.” I’ve never tasted a gin which did lavender as delicately and expertly as this gin does.
Fans of classic gins may find it a bit too floral; but contemporary gin fans and especially floral-forward contemporary gin fans would strongly be recommended to hunt out this gin. I’m blown away by the quality of the aroma and the flavor. This gin is stunning.
Highly Recommended.
Awards
