Craft Gin Club Subscription Box Review | July 2020

It’s strange to think that I’m already writing my review for my July Craft Gin Club delivery, but here we are. July’s box captures the summer vibes perfectly, and is inspired by the tropical vibes of Brazil, with a gin crafted from South America’s finest botanicals, some of which haven’t been used in gin before.

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate for Craft Gin Club, and have not been compensated in any way for this post. My gin subscription is ordered and paid for out of my own money and all opinions are my own.

What’s in the Box?

Amázzoni Gin

Fentimans Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water

SugarSin Fizzy Tropical Gummies

Ikoyi Chapmans Original 

Cranes Raspberries and Pomegranate Cider

Mr Filbert’s Rosemary Almonds

Crafted Mango & Passion Fruit Juice by Cracker Drinks Co.

Copacabana Cooler cocktail syrup

Pineapple and lime garnish

Amázzoni Gin

This month’s craft gin – Amázzoni Gin – brings with it a whole host of Brazilian carnival vibes and is crafted using native botanicals from South America. Amázzoni Gin combines not only the traditional botanicals from the classic London dry gin, but also a whole host of unique Brazilian botanicals too, some of which have never been used in gin before. It’s the first ever gin to be distilled in Brazil, and combines botanicals including juniper, coriander, laurel, Brazil nut, cocoa, pink pepper and lemon. At first, I wasn’t crazy about the flavour of this gin, as it had quite an earthy taste to it, however after trying it a couple more times it’s definitely grown on me. It has quite a fresh scent to start with that actually has a little kick of spice with it, and it leaves a refreshing floral and citrusy finish too. It’s certainly a gin for the summer!

Fentimans Pink Grapefruit Tonic Water

I was a little reluctant to try the pink grapefruit tonic water as my medication advised me not to have grapefruit juice. However, for the purposes of science (and the fact I was pretty sure one small bottle of tonic wouldn’t hurt), I gave it a try. In all honesty, I wasn’t a fan of this particular flavour – I could see how it paired well with the Amázzoni Gin, but for me it was just a little bit too sharp and I preferred the gin paired with plain tonic instead. As much as I usually love citrus flavours, I think this one was just a smidge too much for me.

Ikoyi Chapmans Original

Unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of this one. While the drink was labelled as sparkling, to me it tasted quite flat, and in a way it reminded me of drinking flat Fanta Fruit Twist! It was very sweet too which meant it was quite a struggle to drink. Not for me unfortunately.

Cranes Raspberries and Pomegranate Cider

I love a good fruit flavoured cider – they’re pretty much the only forms of cider I can drink these days. I’m not always a big fan of pomegranate as a flavour but I’m always swayed by pretty and colourful packaging so I decided to give it a try. While it wasn’t particularly the best cider I’ve ever had, it was still pretty good. It was sweet and refreshing, but I’m not sure I could drink multiple cans of it! Still, if you like fruity flavours I would suggest giving this a try – it certainly gets you feeling summery!

Crafter Mango & Passion Fruit Juice by Cracker Drinks Co.

I loved this! It was so refreshing and it paired really nicely with the gin – the passion fruit flavours almost reminded me of a Pornstar Martini. The brand also does a range of different flavours too so I think I’ll be looking into trying these at some point.

Snacks

I was much better impressed with the snack selection this month, and I especially loved the SugarSin Gummies! I’m quite the fan of fizzy sweets but I’m aware they can be quite sickly, but these are surprisingly light and the flavour was really refreshing. I will definitely be investing in another bag later on! I’ve yet to try the almonds, mainly because they’re not particularly something I’d choose as a snack, but also because I’m not convinced that rosemary will be a good pairing with them!

The Cocktail: Copacabana Cooler

This month’s cocktail was so good! It combines the Crafter’s Mango and Passion Fruit Juice with the cocktail syrup and the gin, and it was really refreshing – just the perfect drink for a summer day! It didn’t really taste all that boozy either, great on one hand, but lethal on the other! I think if your go-to cocktail is usually along the lines of a Sex on the Beach or a Pornstar Martini, this is definitely one for you. 

Final Thoughts

I was much happier with this month’s box thankfully, as it had a much better selection of snacks and drinks to go with it. I wasn’t too impressed with the pink grapefruit tonic, but I’ve had Fentimans tonics before and they’ve been lovely, so it certainly didn’t put me off the brand as a whole. The cocktail was much nicer this month too – less sickly and the perfect summer accompaniment!

Overall Rating for July’s Box: 7/10