Orange & Lime Leaf Gin: the new gin from Masons!
Masons Yorkshire Gin‘s success story shows no signs of slowing down. Gin-loving duo Karl and Cathy Mason launched the business in 2013 and they continue to push boundaries with unique award-winning gins. Ryebeck has worked with them for several years, supplying high-quality equipment. The latest release, produced on Tony, their 1000L Ryebeck-commissioned still, is Masons Orange & Lime Leaf Gin.
Masons Orange & Lime Leaf Gin
So, what was the inspiration behind the new flavour? “We created Orange & Lime Leaf Gin to fill the citrus-led gap in our flavour range“, describes Karl. “For us, citrus has always been a secondary flavour in our gins and we spotted a trend in the market for orange. We spent months exploring different flavour combinations in our gin laboratory and seeing what worked best to complement the citrus punch. Kaffir lime leaves are usually used in Asian cuisine, particularly Thai food, adding a fragrant zestiness and this worked perfectly alongside orange. It’s unusual, we know, but we have always distilled for flavour and nothing else! This is why we take time working on combinations which balance perfectly.”
Masons Orange & Lime Leaf Gin
New bottle
Masons gin now has a new bespoke bottle, complementing the artisan nature of their spirits. Karl explains further. “We launched our new bottle design on Thursday 1st October. Following a fire at our original distillery in April 2019, we took the opportunity not just to rebuild, but to innovate and change the way that Masons presents itself. We work in an incredibly competitive market. There are now almost 60 gin distilleries in Yorkshire alone! So, to compete with the larger national brands and drive forward our ambitions of being one of the UK’s most definitive gins, we knew we had to do something large-scale to build up our name in the market.”
Tony, the 1000L spirit still installed for Masons by Ryebeck
Ryebeck’s involvement
Ryebeck has been involved in the customisation and installation of Mason’s 1000L and 450L stills. “We make all our spirits on the 1000L still“, says Karl. “As production continues to ramp up, we will start using both.”
However, in order to develop recipes, they use a smaller still, which allows them to experiment. “All of our products start out life in our state-of-the-art gin laboratory “, explains Karl. “If we tried out brand new ideas on the larger stills, there’d be no room for trial and error without waste. Therefore, we test our NPD on a 5L alembic still. We finalise the recipes on there, before scaling up.”
Masons Orange & Lime Leaf gin is available through their website for £30.
You can read the story of Mason’s recovery from a devastating fire and how Ryebeck helped them grow here.
Author: Robin Goldsmith of The Write Taste.
