The Neptune Rum and Tonic (R&T): Swap out gin for rum to revamp your go-to tipple. All you need to do is add 50ml Neptune Rum to a highball glass filled with ice and top with tonic water (the brand recommends Fever-Tree Premium Tonic Water) and a dash of orange bitters. Garnish with an orange twist and you’ve got yourself a simple, rum-tastic treat. Holyrood Distillery and Eden Mill tied in first place for the most amount of medals achieved with each of them taking home four medal positions. Neptune had a desire to associate itself with Foursquare not just because the distillery makes awesome rum (it was named Rum Producer of the Year at the prestigious International Spirits Challenge 2017), but because Davies wanted to work with a team he felt were “at the forefront of the revolution with regards to be totally honest and transparent”. Of course, Neptune’s biggest asset ultimately its taste. But what does it actually taste like? Here’s are our classic notes to help you get an idea. When Davies initially explored developing a new drinks brand, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that gin was his first focus. However, he moved away from that idea after “talking to industry people”.

The results have revealed a league table of the best tasting gins and the winners will be announced at the annual Scottish gin industry event taking part in November. gins, created by 56 Scottish gin producers have progressing to the finals of the national competition which combines large scale taste and business assessments. I saw others recommend pairing Neptunia Gin with lemonade. I’m a bit less convinced as I think the saline qualities, whether perceived or present, run counter. It becomes a bit more herbal and savory. At least for me, these are qualities I’m less of a fan of in a gin and lemonade.

Unusual distilling for an Unusual gin

Flavor: Citrus is surprisingly prominent throughout the palate. Orange zest segues into slightly herbal and green juniper. Mid-palate, juniper is pronounced and front and center. Becomes greener, with more kelp, thyme, and some vegetal undertones. To be named a finalist is a massive achievement, especially given the challenges of the last 2 and a half years and shows the true resilience and innovation of our industry. Neptune Rum was only launched in 2017, yet it already boasts over 40 prestigious global awards. How did the brand do it? We find out.

The Scottish Gin Awards is the one of the largest gin competitions in the UK and revealed its winners following a rigorous judging process involving 46 leading experts, the assessment of 63 written entries and the blind tasting of over 200 gins, all distilled in Scotland. Best served with a premium or Mediterranean tonic, garnished with a lemon peel. Neptune Gin can be used to make a classic Martini with a St Andrews twist. 40% ABV / 70CL DISCOVER THE STORY BEHIND NEPTUNE GIN expert judges from the distilling and drinks industry were presented by flights of samples and asked to taste and assess each liquid across a range of quality standards. Neptune Rum and Cola: You can never go wrong with a classic Rum and Coke. It tastes great and it’s super easy to make. Add 50ml of Neptune Rum to a highball glass filled with ice. Then top with cola; Fever-Tree Madagascan Cola really highlights the vanilla flavours. Then garnish with fresh lime slices. The announcement follows the recent news that their climate positive distillery and visitor attraction which will use biomass plant and field electricity to power stills will open in spring 2022.The results are highly regarded as they are independently audited by a panel of experts and judged live in a rigorously assessed blind tasting event. Over 300 guests from the Scottish drinks industry joined to celebrate achievements, which included the announcement of the winner of the top award of the night, Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year 2022. Say chin chin with our fabulous collection of gin. If you love a classic G&T, get your hands on your favourite gin brand, and don't forget the tonic water. And of course, grab some limes too. If you don't have a favourite brand, try a variety before making your mind up. Our gin miniatures are great way to sample our range of brands and flavours. You’ll also find the right gin glass from our glassware collection. We look forward to welcoming you all to the Scottish Gin Awards dinner in Glasgow in November - the best party ever in the awards calendar.” The ultimate award, Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year, was presented to North Uist Distillery who have created an impressive range of gins. They also collected the award for Excellent in Branding.

Palate: A viscous and refined palate is filled with ripe peaches, as well as touches of shredded coconut and green banana. More vanilla is present underneath with a faint hint of returning peppercorn and toasted white fruit. For the first time since 2014 the brand will distil their award-winning London dry style Original Gin into a glass bottle, joining their full range, including their famous Love Gin, Golf Gin and nine new premium gins in a standardised new crystal cut design which uses 18% less glass than industry standard. Start up gin businesses including Fassfern Distillery and Rutland Square Gin also collected medals, with Rutland Square Gin, made under contract at Summerhall Distillery, collecting the Gold Medal for Best Flavoured Gin.

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Neptune’s final production stage involves a specific cold-filtration process and the addition of soft spring water to dilute the rum from 68% ABV cask strength to its 40% bottling strength. It is bottled in England, without any additional colouring or sugar. Davies was keen to emphasise that he wanted Neptune “to be really honest and very transparent” as a brand. “A lot of producers in the rum industry are a little cloak-and-dagger, which is thankfully coming to an end,” he added. The sheer number of awards Neptune it has received in such a short space of time would suggest it was a smart move. The brand was named Britain’s Best Rum Brand at the 6th Golden Barrel Awards, as well as Barbados Rum of the Year at the New York International Spirits Competition 2018, and the Berlin International Spirits Competition. Eden Mill distillers has announced a significant bottle redesign in a major step forwards in their journey to carbon neutrality – and launched nine new gins.

Playing host? Our range of flavoured gins is sure to get the party started. Whether you prefer a classic dry gin or want to add some colour with pink gin, we’ve got a wide variety to choose from. Just some of the flavours we offer include summery strawberry, peach and mango. The Scottish Gin Awards is one of the UK’s most comprehensive and highly regarded gin competitions as it assesses both taste and business performance. They key to success isn’t just to source great rum and make an amazing blend out of it. One of Neptune’s strengths as a brand is savvy marketing. Ensuring transparency in its production process, an increasingly important trend that modem consumers respond to, in an example of this. As is the brand’s desire to become more ethical, with plans to go plastic-free by next year and found its own charity.

The Scottish Gin Awards have revealed gin brands which have successfully achieved medal status in 2022, following the awards dinner in Glasgow this month. Neptune is the Roman god of the sea, which wholly inspired this seashore reminiscent gin. Distilled with samphire and kelp - or Neptune’s belt, as it is sometimes known.