Gin and Winter 2022

Winter months at Humdinger Gin - Innovation, Creation and Preparation

Looking forward to Winter? We sure are. During these months here at Humdinger Gin we are in the business of tweaking our distillery processes and making improvements wherever possible. 

Humdinger dosen’t believe in resting on our laurels. With the incredible success of our Citrus and Sloe gins, we are looking to increasing our stable of Humdinger Gin. Winter is the best time to get creative and experiment with new boutique style gin, and that is exactly what we are doing.

Preparing for the tourist season is yet another critical element that is taking up our time over Winter. With the boarders open and the forward bookings looking good for Summer, we are in the process of preparing our tasting room to accommodate this growing market for us.

Gin to be enjoyed all year round

Gin transcends through out all the months of the year. History tells us that Gin is a Summer time drink - and it is, but why limit your favourite tipple to just the Summer months when enjoying a refreshing Gin is delectable any time of the year! A thirst quenching Gin is just the ticket after a day’s hunting in the backblocks of New Zealand, or even after an afternoon stacking wood.

Traditional Gin Cocktails with a twist

There are many truly amazing gin cocktail recipes to enjoy. You could get into the winter vibe by creating Gin Cocktails with a heartwarming twist.

Gin works especially well when you bring in winter spices and ingredients like maple syrup, star anise, cinnamon, cranberries and ginger.

At Humdinger Gin we like to keep recipes simple and this also applies to our Gin Cocktails. Using readily available ingredients that are not too complicated to make, is why we choose the Cranberry Gin Cocktail as our featured Winter Gin Cocktail.

Refreshing Cranberry Gin Cocktail

The (cranberry) sugar syrup

1 cup of frozen cranberries

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of water

Gently heat all ingredients in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved.

Mash the cranberries gently with a fork, and then set aside to cool.

Strain and keep in a jar or container in the fridge until you're ready to use. Sugar syrup will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

This cranberry sugar syrup makes 8 cocktails. 

The Cranberry Cocktail

1 Handful of ice

30 ml of Humdinger citrus gin

30 ml of homemade (cranberry) sugar syrup

1 serving of tonic water 

Add the ice to your favourite glass, then pour in the gin, sugar syrup, and finally the tonic water. Enjoy!

Cranberry lends itself well to the crisp botanicals in our Citrus gin.

Warm and spicy hot toddy gin

Gin takes wonderfully to spices. As gin is one of the purest of all spirits, it can diversify into a smokey or a warming tone for the palate. Humdinger Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin is a fine example of how we have enhanced gin with a bourbon twist. Gin is adaptable, malleable, and lends itself as an exciting alternative to the traditional winter spirits such as whiskies and ports. 

Our Limited Release Humdinger Bourbon Aged Barrel Gin is made by aging a blend of our award-winning Dry and Citrus Gin in a used Bourbon Barrel for 3 months. This Gin is perfect for Hot toddies. 

Humdingers Hot Toddy

3/4 cup water

50ml Humdinger Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin

2 to 3 teaspoons of honey, to taste

2 to 3 teaspoons of lemon juice, to taste

1 lemon slice

1 cinnamon stick to garnish

Apple slices to garnish, if desired

Boil the water, adding it to a mug once ready.

Stir in 2 tsp of honey, 2 tsp of lemon juice, and the barrel aged gin until the honey has dissolved.

Taste, and add 1 tsp more honey for more sweetness and/or 1 more tsp of lemon juice for more zing.

Garnish with the lemon slice, cinnamon stick and optional apple slice then enjoy!