Craft Gin Club Subscription Box Review | January 2021

As of January 2021, I will have been with Craft Gin Club for a whole year. While I didn’t start my reviews until May last year, I’ve received a fabulous array of craft gin and snacks over the last few months. January’s box was a welcome arrival after the Christmas comedown, and they certainly started 2021 on a high. January’s gin of the month box was inspired by the Lake District and all its history – the poets, the novelists, and the artists. In fact, reading the history of this month’s distillery had me singing Taylor Swift’s The Lakes in my head every time I poured myself a glass, and at the time of writing, there’s less than a third of it left. Sounds like this month was a good one…

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?

Pennington’s Lakeland Moon Snowfell Gin

TwelveBelow Pear & Cardamom Tonic and Rhubarb & Ginger Tonic

Olly’s Pretzel Thins Multi-Seed Sesame

PURA Soda Cucumber & Lime

Doisy & Dam Ballers

Esprala Apple & Red Plum

Rhythm 108 Sweet and Salty Almond Bar

Pennington’s Bakewell Gin Liqueur

Boundless Nuts and Seeds – Cayenne & Rosemary

Lady of the Lakes Cocktail Syrup

Apple and cinnamon garnish

Pennington’s Lakeland Moon Snowfell Gin

Distilled in Kendal, the Lake District, this month’s craft gin was an exclusive blend inspired by the area’s natural beauty. Combining botanicals such as juniper, fennel seed, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel, angelica root, almond powder and cassia bark, this gin has a lovely, fresh citrus scent which made it instantly appealing to me. Taste wise, you still had a hit of the citrus flavours but there was also a little warmth there too thanks to the spiced notes. It was light, refreshing, and it certainly puts you in mind of crisp winter mornings.

TwelveBelow Pear & Cardamom Tonic/Rhubarb and Ginger Tonic

If there’s anything I’ve learned from flavoured tonics, it’s that they’re very hit and miss. As someone who’s not crazy about pear as a flavour, I didn’t expect much from the pear and cardamom tonic, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. It was incredibly sweet and had a really nice warming flavour that paired well with the gin, although I wouldn’t necessarily want to drink multiple helpings because of how sweet it was. The rhubarb and ginger tonic was probably my favourite out of the two, as I’ve always been a fan of this flavour in a gin itself (my favourite has to be the Edinburgh Gin one), and this particular one didn’t disappoint. The rhubarb flavour bought just enough sweetness while the ginger flavour gave it a touch of warmth and spice. It paired really well with the spiced notes of the gin but still managed to give a refreshing taste at the same time. 

Pennington’s Bakewell Gin Liqueur 

Anything with a Bakewell-esque flavour in my book is a winner, so I was quite eager to try this when I discovered it in the box. However, I wasn’t really sure what to pair it with. My Mother in Law recommended trying it with prosecco, which is ultimately what I did and bloody hell, it was amazing. It reminded me a lot of cherryade – but nicer and A LOT more boozy. I loved it!

PURA Soda Cucumber and Lime

Anything cucumber flavoured is a winner in my book, so I decided to try this soda out with the Lakeland Snowfell gin. It certainly didn’t disappoint! It was light, refreshing, and paired incredibly well with the citrus notes of the gin. In a way the cucumber notes reminded me of a Hendrick’s gin (my absolute favourite), so this was definitely a winner in my book.

Snacks

Regular readers will know I don’t always get on well with the snacks that come in each month’s box, but this year I’ve actually been trying a bit harder to eat them. I especially wanted to give a shout out to the Doisy & Dam Ballers which I thought were rather yummy – they kind of reminded me of a healthier version of Maltesers (if there is such a thing!). I also quite liked the Rhythm 108 Bar too, it had quite a nice array of textures in it and it tasted pretty much like your average chocolate bar.

The Cocktail: Lady of the Lakes

The Lady of the Lakes cocktail combined the syrup, gin and the Esprala Apple & Red Plum. I think if you’re a fan of warming, apple flavours, this cocktail is definitely a winner. All in all, it was a lovely cocktail, but I also felt it was a little bit sickly sweet – I normally like drinks with an apple flavouring, but this was almost a bit too sweet. It felt like a nice sweet treat after dinner, but I certainly couldn’t drink more than one!

Final Thoughts

Overall January’s box was a strong start to the new year’s offerings. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the cocktail, the gin was fabulous and I’ll be honest – it’s nearly all gone. The collection of snacks for this month was definitely better than previous months, and this has actually been one of the rare occasions where I’ve eaten them! All in all, it was a great selection of offerings and I loved the wintery theme that came with it all. Plus, that Bakewell gin liqueur was BEAUTIFUL.

Overall Rating for January’s Box: 8/10

Catch Up on Previous Reviews Here