It’s the season of bold flavors, creative cocktails, and evenings that stretch long and golden past sunset. This month, we're pouring the spotlight onto two extraordinary gin brands that are completely rewriting what gin can be: Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin with its wildly expressive Italian Fig & Laurel and Brazilian Pineapple expressions, and the breathtaking trio from Mermaid Gin. Whether you've been a gin devotee for years or you're just starting to explore what's beyond the well gin and tonic, these bottles are the real deal.
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin
The beginning of Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin is one of the best origin stories in modern craft spirits.
The gin is made at The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, a small town in County Leitrim in the west of Ireland. The Shed was founded by PJ Rigney, a passionate distiller who spent years developing the recipe before releasing the first bottle in 2014. His goal: a gin rooted in Irish tradition but genuinely global in its inspiration.
The name comes from Gunpowder Tea. This is a Chinese green tea whose leaves are hand-rolled into tight pellets resembling grains of gunpowder. That tea is slow-vapor infused into the botanical blend, lending a subtle, earthy smokiness that threads through every expression like a signature.
The full botanical lineup is a world tour: Chinese gunpowder tea, kaffir lime, and caraway seed from Asia; angelica, juniper, coriander, and orris root from Europe; plus meadowsweet and bog myrtle sourced locally in Ireland. The base spirit is 100% Irish grain, giving it a clean, soft foundation. Everything is slow-vapor infused in Drumshanbo's copper pot still, a painstaking process that extracts flavor with finesse rather than force.
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin with Brazilian Pineapple
The Brazilian Pineapple expression is Drumshanbo's tropical adventure, and it's every bit as exciting as it sounds. Sun-ripened Brazilian pineapple is slow-vapor infused alongside the classic Gunpowder botanicals, meaning the fruit is woven into the gin from the very first stage, not added as a flavoring after distillation. The result tastes genuinely tropical without tasting artificial: real depth, real complexity, and that unmistakable Gunpowder backbone running quietly underneath all that sunshine.
In the glass: big waves of fresh pineapple, a citrus lift, and that signature earthy-spice note from the gunpowder tea keeping everything grounded. On the palate, it's bright and playful with a long, slightly warming finish that reminds you this is a serious gin wearing a seriously fun outfit.
Try it as a Pineapple Smash: Muddle fresh mint and pineapple chunks, add 50ml Drumshanbo Gunpowder Brazilian Pineapple Gin, 25ml fresh lime juice, and 15ml simple syrup. Shake hard over ice, double-strain into a rocks glass, and top with a splash of soda. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and mint crown.
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin with Italian Fig & Laurel
Where the Brazilian Pineapple turns up the energy, the Italian Fig & Laurel turns it inward, and the result is one of the most beautifully complex flavored gins we've encountered. Slow-vapor infused with Italian figs and laurel (bay leaf), this gin draws inspiration from the sun-drenched landscapes of southern Italy, where fig trees grow in abundance, and bay laurel is as everyday as garden herbs.
The fig brings a honeyed, jammy sweetness, not candy-sweet, but the deep, wine-like sweetness of a perfectly ripe fruit straight off the branch. The laurel adds a savory, aromatic counterpoint: herbal and slightly medicinal in the best possible way, with a warmth that lingers. Together with the Gunpowder base, it's a gin that feels simultaneously ancient and entirely modern, like it could have been served in a Roman garden or at the hottest cocktail bar in Milan.
Try it as a Fig & Laurel Negroni: Combine 30ml Drumshanbo Gunpowder Italian Fig & Laurel Gin, 30ml sweet vermouth, and 30ml Campari in a mixing glass over ice. Stir until well-chilled and strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Express an orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Mermaid Gin
Mermaid Gin comes from one of the most magical gin-making locations on earth: the Isle of Wight, a small island off the southern coast of England known for its dramatic chalk cliffs and creative community. The distillery, Isle of Wight Distillery, was founded with a simple but powerful mission: to make gin that genuinely tastes like where it comes from.
Every bottle contains rock samphire, a coastal herb foraged directly from the Isle of Wight's shoreline cliffs. It's been used in English cooking and medicine for centuries, carrying the sea in every frond: briny, grassy, mineral, and unmistakably coastal. Combined with hand-picked elderflower, fragrant lemon zest, and locally grown grains, Mermaid Gin is an expression of place unlike anything else in the category.
The bottles are stunning and designed to evoke ocean waves with a distinctive mermaid seal. These are gins you put on the shelf because they look beautiful, and then reach for constantly because they taste even better.
Mermaid Pink Gin
Blush-hued, undeniably pretty, and made with real Isle of Wight strawberries (no artificial colorings, no shortcuts), the Pink Gin adds fruity elegance to the classic Mermaid recipe. Softly sweet without being cloying, the strawberry weaves through the samphire and elderflower like a warm coastal breeze. Serve in a tall glass with elderflower tonic and a sliced strawberry for a G&T that looks and tastes like summer itself.
Try it as a Mermaid Spritz: 50ml Mermaid Pink Gin over ice in a wine glass. Top with chilled prosecco and a splash of elderflower tonic. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices and a sprig of mint.
Mermaid Zest Gin
If you need something that cuts right through the Georgia heat, Mermaid Zest is your answer. Built on the original Mermaid recipe and elevated with additional lemon zest and grapefruit peel, this expression is all vibrant citrus energy and coastal brightness. Zingy and refreshing, with enough botanical complexity underneath to keep things interesting sip after sip.
Try it as a Zest Collins: 50ml Mermaid Zest, 25ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml simple syrup, shaken and strained into a tall glass over ice. Top with soda water. Garnish with a long lemon peel twist and a grapefruit wheel.
Mermaid Original Gin
The one that started the legend. Mermaid Original is a masterclass in balance, juniper-forward but not aggressive, botanical but not shouty, complex but never confusing. Foraged rock samphire gives it a briny coastal edge, elderflower adds a delicate floral lift, and fresh lemon zest keeps everything bright. Approachable for newcomers, fascinating for enthusiasts. Pour over ice with quality tonic and let it do the talking.
Try it as a Classic Mermaid G&T: 50ml Mermaid Gin over a large ice cube in a Copa glass. 150ml of quality Mediterranean tonic. Garnish with a cucumber ribbon and a twist of lemon. Simple, perfect.
