I’d been intrigued by Whitley Neill Quince gin since I saw first saw it. I’ll be perfectly honest and admit that I had never heard of quince. I always just admired the pretty green bottle on the shelf instead of buying it.

Well, last weekend my curiosity got the better of me when I saw it was on special offer. I did a bit of googling and finally found out that a quince is a fruit, similar in appearance to a pear. A little bit of quince trivia for you – it’s possibly the forbidden fruit mentioned in the bible, and hey, if it’s good enough for Eve…

Once you pop the cork stopper from the bottle you can smell the sweet fruit. It’s like a mixture of pear and apple, and for honesty again, I was a little worried about how well it would combine with gin. There was absolutely no need for worry, because as I took my first sip of it neat, it was wonderful. The fruity hit you get first is enhanced by the gin being ever so slightly viscous and thick in the mouth, and then you get the warmth of the gin.

I tried this gin with Fentimans light tonic and a slice of lime, but for me adding tonic to this gin was doing it a real disservice. The only way to really get the best from Whitley Neill quince gin is to have it over ice and sip it. I also prefer it with no garnish when drinking this gin neat, the flavours are excellent and need nothing adding.

For just under £25 this gin is really good value. It’s completely different to any gin I’ve ever tried, and it is different in the best way possible. In fact, I think I’m going to have another right now.

When I drank it

It’s the perfect gin to have after a hard day at work.

What I used as a garnish

A wedge of lime if drinking it with tonic, but absolutely nothing if drinking it over ice.

Is it with the money?

For £25 this gin is a winner. You can buy it online here.