Toast to Midsummer With Tamworth Garden Summer Solstice Gin

Tamworth Distilling, the acclaimed craft distillery celebrated for hyperlocal, small-batch spirits founded by booze baron and creator of the Hendrick’s Gin brand, Steven Grasse, is thrilled to announce the second annual release of Tamworth Garden Summer Solstice Gin ($85, 750ml, 60 proof), a limited-edition spirit bursting with seasonal flavors including peaches, sweet woodruff, citrus zest, and more. This fresh interpretation of the distillery’s ever-evolving line of single-batch gins, with a truly unique flavor profile, is available for nationwide purchase online.

Tamworth Garden Summer Solstice Gin provides a beautifully balanced profile that evokes the sun-drenched days and balmy nights of midsummer. By utilizing a rotary evaporator to distill ingredients, distillers have enhanced each item’s delicate, high-toned qualities; in effect preserving the pure essence of each ingredient, including juniper, peach puree, angelica, lemon, sweet woodruff, coriander, and ginger. When tasting Tamworth Garden Summer Solstice Gin, imbibers can expect a floral-driven palate of peach, carrot top, and a hint of graham cracker.  

“I am obsessed with the art of gin-making, and our distilling team is obsessed with pushing barriers with each new spirit we create – pushing our own barriers, because there’s no one who can do exactly what we do,” commented distillery owner, Steven Grasse. “Our distillers actually walk outside, see what plants are in season and flourishing in our garden, and then formulate recipes that highlight the freshest ingredients at their natural peak. We are quite literally capturing the essence of wild New England in every bottle.” 

In line with this scratch-made ethos, the distillers pick sweet woodruff straight from the distillery backyard. When picked, sweet woodruff has no smell – but after the distillers drop clippings into the solstice gin, it brings about aromas of peach, vanilla, and cinnamon – reminiscent of a freshly baked summer peach pie. Over time, colors from the flower’s leaves dissolve into the liquid, creating an off-white, skeletonized flower that resembles an anatomical curiosity.

Since launching in 2015, Tamworth Distilling has seen widespread success for its wide catalogue of spirits – culminating in Food & Wine dubbing Grasse and the distillery as Innovators of the Year in 2023. Pillars of the Tamworth Garden gin program include Sylvan Mist, known as the world’s first drinkable and wearable perfume spirit; the flagship Tamworth Garden White Mountain Gin, named New Hampshire’s Spirit of the Year in 2024; and Damson Gin, whose plums go on to live a second life in an additional spirit, Plummeau. A steadfast, cultlike following of consumers ensure that each release of small-batch gins does not remain in stock for long.  

Grasse’s expertise in, and passion for, the category is rooted in his storied marketing career: In 1999, Grasse turned the gin world upside down by creating the strange and whimsical brand Hendrick’s Gin. Inside its iconic apothecary-style bottle is an entire world that comes to life at everything from parties and cocktail classes to airships and penny-farthing bicycles. His agency, Quaker City Mercantile, has done everything from designing stained glass for the Distillery (the Gin Palace in Scotland) to developing a stream of product innovations for the brand. He continues to function as the head of the spirit’s global creative agency, while also working with agency partners around the world to keep the brand growing for over 20 years.

Tamworth Garden Summer Solstice Gin is available for nationwide purchase online. Ringing in at 60-proof, this easy sipping gin makes a lovely base for any summer libation – check out the recipes below for inspiration.

Glassware: Coupe

Garnish: Peach slice

Instructions: Stir gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, and orange bitters in a coupe glass. Top with champagne.

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Glassware: Highball

Garnish: Peach slice and sprig of rosemary

Instructions: Combine gin, peach purée, and lemonade into a shaker. Shake until chilled. Pour into a highball and top with tonic water. Garnish with a peach slice and a sprig of rosemary.

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Glassware: Rocks

Garnish: Skewered slice of peach

Instructions:  Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add gin, triple sec, and lime juice. Shake until combined. Cover the rim of a rocks glass with Tajín. Pour contents of chilled shaker into the glass and garnish with a skewered peach slice. Drizzle with Mike’s Hot Honey.