Craft Gin Club is a monthly subscription box featuring gin. Subscribers to the box will receive a full-sized bottle of gin each month plus mixers for the gin, snacks, and the monthly magainze "Ginned!". The "Ginned!" magazine contains product and feature information for the gin, several cocktail and food recipes that you can use with your gin, and more. July's box is American-themed to celebrate Independence Day and comes with a gin from North Carolina named Chemist American Gin. This gin won Double Gold at the Women's Wine and Spirits Awards in London and bronze at the American Craft Spirit Award in 2020. I was born in the states, and I loved my travels around North and South Carolina many years ago, so this box is a winner for me. I can't wait to get back there; I was meant to go last year, but I could not for the obvious reasons.
Chemist American Gin was distilled in North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains. It is a botanical gin with citrus, rose, spice and juniper.
Mulberry Creek Tonic Water and Bitter Lemon juice were two of the mixers included. They have been created by Craft Gin Club. The mixers have a reduced carbon footprint; they are made from local ingredients.
Bodega Bay Elderflower with Lemon & Mint is one of the other mixers in the July box. It is a hard seltzer (low alcohol) named after California's surfer coast at Bodega Bay. The elderflower with lemon and mint flavour is a herbal, citrus and slight floral flavour that is delicious with gin.
I am already familiar and often purchase Penn State pretzels, but I never go for the sour cream as I dislike the flavour. Unfortunately, I could not eat these as I really despise sour cream flavour. It will continue to be the salted or plain version only for me.
I am also already a fan of Devonshire's Luscombe Organic Drinks and often enjoy the Sicilian Lemonade flavour. They sell these at various National Trust properties, and I've also ordered them with afternoon tea. They are an organic drink that can be consumed on its own or as a mixer.
A small packet of Copperpot Pecan & Maple fudge was also in the July box, and these were delicious cubes of fudge that did go well with a gin cocktail. I love the maple and pecan flavours, so this one was a winner for me. Copperpot's fudge is made in St. Ives in Cornwall by Orchard Valley Foods Group, and this flavour is a bespoke edition made for Craft Gin Club. I definitely think they should continue to sell this one.
Members also received a small packet of two different flavours of peanut butter by ManiLife: Deep Roast Smooth and Original Roast Smooth. The products are made using Argentinian peanuts, and they claim to be vegan and without sugar and palm oil. The magazine contains a recipe to use one in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the other in a gin cocktail. (I'm not a fan of milky drinks as the cocktail recipe calls for, so I will be trying both in sandwiches.)
The Curators Smokey BBQ Almonds were the next snack in the July Craft Gin Club box. I enjoyed these a lot. I love BBQ flavour, and I love almonds, so this one was always going to be a winner for me. The Curators is a company run by two friends who travel the world to find ways to give snacks a twist, and they aim for healthy alternatives. The almonds are sourced from America, and nothing is more American than a smokey BBQ.
Peach Gin Iced Tea syrup was the special mixer of the month for the monthly cocktail, and the garnish this month was lime and blueberry slices to enjoy with the traditional gin and tonic.
This was a great box for me. I've not been able to try all of the cocktails and items yet, but I will be doing so as soon as I can catch up.
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