First Impressions
Edinburgh Seaside is a coastal London Dry using botanicals foraged from beaches around Edinburgh. Bladderwrack seaweed provides sweet minerality and subtle savouriness, scurvygrass adds peppery spice and a grassy note, and ground ivy rounds things out with earthiness. Traditional gin botanicals — juniper, coriander, cardamom, grains of paradise — form the foundation.
Tasting
The nose is fresh and light with floral notes reminiscent of summer meadows and coastal breezes, subtle minerality emerging. On the palate, sweet minerality from bladderwrack arrives first with briny seaweed savouriness, beautifully counterpointed by the grassy notes of scurvygrass. The interplay between sweet, salty and grassy is well-judged. The finish is pleasingly crisp with a slightly sweet close.
The Bottom Line
Edinburgh Seaside earns a 7 for a convincing coastal gin that avoids the trap of being merely novelty. The bladderwrack adds genuine maritime character without tasting like a rock pool, and the scurvygrass provides a peppery counterpoint. Best with tonic, a grapefruit twist and thyme — the serve that brings the coastline to life.
