Little Lon Distilling Co.’s range is diverse, well thought and hugely enjoyable. At one end you have the ginger and citrus forward ‘Ginger Mick’ which is ideally suited to a Negroni or Gin Old Fashioned. In the middle you have the juniper rich and forward ‘Constable Proudfoot’ a classic gin that rewards a slice of lemon and sprig of rosemary for a super G&T.
At the other end you have our selection for gin of the month, the Little Miss Yoko. Sitting alongside the gin range is Little Lon’s take on a Dutch style genever. Having tasted it, we were intrigued and delighted. This style of juniper drink will particularly appeal to you if you’re a whisky fan, as well as gin.
Little Miss Yoko is named after Yokohama a previous resident of the cottage at Casselden Place who was engaged in the oldest known profession while the brothel operated onsite. In a nod to her native China, Yoko features a rarely used botanical in the form of lychee. Because Little Lon doesn’t ever take the easy path, kilos of lychees are hand pealed on site for distillation. Extracting maximum flavour means some are macerated overnight prior to distillation, while extra is added to the column during distillation also.
The lychee is complemented by another popular South East Asian spice in the form of lemongrass. Added to the mix is cinnamon and vanilla pod along with some other classic gin botanicals. Miss Yoko steers clear of the likes of aniseed and should be a pleasant contrast to some of our recent gins that have featured these notes more heavily.
Overall we found Little Miss Yoko does something that South East Asian cuisines do so well, in balancing both sweet, savoury and spicy notes. The lychee on the nose is fresh and bright and there’s more than a hint of fresh green apple for us. This is pleasantly underpinned with subtle earthy piney notes from juniper and lemongrass.
On the palate it’s easy drinking, with the spice, vanilla, juniper and citrus coming to the front. The lychee gives a pleasantly sweet and long, lingering finish.
There are many ways you can drink this one and we hope you’ll take the chance to experiment with it. If you already love a lychee martini, this is the martini gin for you!
As a gin and tonic, we can’t recommend using Fever Tree’s Elderflower tonic enough for this gin. We experimented with a few tonic combos and this was hands down the best choice. Garnish with a strawberry, or raspberry to finish it off.
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