Copeland
Irish Gin
- Donaghadee
- 45% ABV
- 700 ml
Classic dry
A dry Irish gin at 45%, juniper-forward with pine and a peppery bite that the extra strength carries well. Citrus peel through the middle, a faint earthy root note behind it, and a warm, clean finish that stays crisp with water rather than turning soft.
Serve
1:2 — the 45% takes the longer pour without thinning
Garnish — Grapefruit peel
Cocktails
Martini
Cold, dry and close to neat spirit — the vermouth adds weight and a faint bitterness rather than much flavour of its own. The gin has nowhere to hide: juniper needs backbone here, and any softness in the botanicals shows up whole. Lemon oil sharpens the first sip and keeps it from going flat.
Copeland's 45% and juniper spine hold their shape against vermouth instead of disappearing into it.
Negroni
Bitter first, then sweet: Campari's rind-and-root edge held up by the vermouth's dark, herbal sugar. The gin has to push through both, so juniper and a firm backbone read clearly where softer florals get buried. Stirred over ice, it drinks cold and slow, the orange peel lifting the bitterness.
Copeland's pine-heavy juniper and peppery 45% bite cut through Campari's rind-and-root sweetness, and the faint earthy root note behind it echoes the bitter's own edge.
Gin & Tonic
Long, dry and bitter-edged, the tonic's quinine pulling against the gin's botanicals while the lime wedge sharpens both. Refreshing rather than contemplative. The gin has to hold its shape against all that dilution: juniper and citrus carry through, where delicate florals tend to vanish.
The citrus peel running through the middle meets the quinine and lime head-on, and at 45% the gin stays crisp under dilution rather than softening the way its own tasting note promises.
