Where on earth has 2017 gone?! What an amazing year it has been. So we should finish on a high…

Hidden Curiosities was something that peaked my interest several months ago on social media. Their distinctive branding made me want to know more…and most importantly – taste it.

So when Jenny Meguro, Director of Hidden Curiosities, reached out – I was very excited.

It didn’t disappoint. Opening the equally curious black box a few months ago, to find a lovely square bottle with a complex and interesting label – I could smell cardamom and pink pepper already. Had it leaked?! No thank god – a lovely little plastic bag of those botanicals was also in there – making the perfect garnish immediately available.

 

 

Some big flavours in here, living up to it’s name – you immediately get the spice on the nose, hints of pink pepper and citrus inquisitively creep through. To taste, the spice of grains of paradise is quickly complimented with a meddling yuzu citrus. The cardamom is unmissable but is calmed with a gentle rose petal to finish.

We caught up with Jenny recently and asked her the usual Gin of the Month questions!

Give us an overview of Hidden Curiosities

“Before Hidden Curiosities gin was born, I had been running another business called Cravat Club which specialise in men’s silk accessories, which I still run now alongside my craft gin venture, and have sold to over 50 countries to date. I had always loved gin but in the past 2 years or so I had got quite obsessed with the ever-growing variety of craft gins and always tried new gins whenever I had the chance. As part of my research (of course!), I sampled over 100 craft gins in a year, and I would go through phases of having a favourite gin for a while, but then suddenly get bored of the same flavour and so moved onto something else. So it was for my own selfish and fickle reason that I wanted to create a gin which I wouldn’t tire of! I aimed to create a complex, yet well-balanced and incredibly moreish gin which had the potential to transform and change in flavour depending on how you served it, so you could have a completely different drink each time, and after extensive research I managed to come up with my own recipe and create just that! Hidden Curiosities first distilled in late July, but I have already sold 1,000 bottles since then and have just created my second batch of gin last week. So it seems to be going down rather well.”

Describe your Gin in three words

“Multifaceted, Moreish, Remarkable”

How is it best enjoyed?

“It is truly delicious just as it is to enjoy neat. For a longer drink, I like to add premium tonic either 1724, Distillers Dry, BTW or Fever-tree, which all work really well with Hidden Curiosities, and garnish with pink peppercorns and green cardamom to intensify the aromatic spices. Lemon peel or strawberries also complement the gin really well and completely change the dynamics of the flavours that come through.”

What are your plans for the company for the next 12 months?

“I plan to enter Hidden Curiosities into the San Francisco International Spirit Awards next year, my stockists lists are continually growing – I’m working very hard to get the brand out as much as I can, and very excited to see where Hidden Curiosities may end up in the next 12 months.”

So that’s it! Another year done! Still trying to work out if I will carry on Gin of the Month into 2018…let me know your thoughts and if its something you like or does it need a shake up?

Also – be sure to keep an eye on Twitter and Instagram to vote for Gin of the Year 2017!

 

TGL