A long, tall G&T has become a big treat in the pandemic, and what better way of indulging your inner royal than with a bottle of the Queen's gin?
Historic Royal Palaces are selling their first-ever gin created in partnership with Northern Ireland’s first craft gin distillery. The Hillsborough Castle and Gardens Shortcross edition features rose petals handpicked from the Queen's Granville Rose Garden at Hillsborough Castle – the Queen's official residence in Northern Ireland.
The special limited edition gin, of which there are only 400 bottles available, also contains apples and pears foraged from the 18th century Walled Garden at the estate. How wonderful!
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The Granville Rose Garden is named after Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon – aunt to the Queen and wife of the Earl of Granville, the second Governor of Northern Ireland. The garden features climbing, rambling and hybrid tea roses, the fragrance of which is a signature of the gin’s blend, along with a sweet citrus and smooth oily finish.
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The Hillsborough Castle and Gardens Shortcross edition gin
The gin is available to buy online at historicroyalpalaces.com from 2 February, priced at £40, but you'd better be quick as the 400 bottles won't be around for long.
Laura McCorry, Head of Hillsborough Castle, said: "We’re delighted to have been able to work with the experts at Rademon Estate to make our dream of bottling something of Hillsborough Castle’s essence a reality. Like the Castle itself, gin is something of a Georgian success story, so it seems particularly fitting that both seem to be enjoying a renaissance in the twenty-first century!"
The Queen's Northern Ireland home, Hillsborough Castle
Founder and Head Distiller of the Rademon Estate Distillery, David Boyd-Armstrong, added: "To be given the opportunity to create the first gin ever for Historic Royal Palaces was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We were able to use botanicals from the Hillsborough Castle walled garden and from the Granville Rose Garden, allowing us to create a totally unique gin that encapsulates Hillsborough Castle and its surroundings."
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