First Impressions
Griffiths Brothers Distillery operates from Penn Street in the Chiltern Hills — an area of outstanding natural beauty in Buckinghamshire. The distillery produces cold-distilled gin, a method that operates at lower temperatures to preserve delicate botanical flavours that conventional heat distillation would destroy. The thirteen-botanical bill includes some unusual additions — orange blossom, barberries, and bay laurel — alongside the classic gin foundation of juniper, coriander, and angelica. The multi-award-winning result has earned gold medals and a reputation as one of England's finest small-batch gins.
The Distillery
Griffiths Brothers uses cold distillation for their Original expression, extracting botanical flavours at lower temperatures than traditional pot still methods. The thirteen botanicals — juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, liquorice root, cassia bark, orange zest, lemon zest, orris root, bay laurel, grains of paradise, orange blossom, barberries, and elderflower — benefit from this gentler extraction, with the more delicate ingredients (orange blossom, elderflower) particularly well-served by the cold method.
Tasting
The nose is pungent and engaging. Zesty orange and piney juniper lead, with faint liquorice adding depth. Fragrant orange blossom — one of the most distinctive botanicals in the bill — provides a floral quality that is genuine and aromatic. Zesty lemon peel and floral elderflower float over an herbaceous, earthy backdrop from the angelica and bay laurel.
On the palate, zesty citrus bursts forth, accompanied by cassia bark-spiced piney juniper. The cold distillation delivers its promise: the flavours are clean, smooth, and remarkably well-integrated, with exceptional depth and complexity from the thirteen botanicals. The barberries add a subtle tartness that gives the mid-palate an interesting fruity dimension, and the grains of paradise provide warming pepper.
The finish is bright, fresh, and generously flavoured — the cold distillation preserving botanical freshness that extends the experience.
How to Drink It
The orange blossom makes this gin a natural for a G&T with Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic and an orange twist. In a Martini, the cold-distilled delicacy creates something refined and elegant.
The Bottom Line
Griffiths Brothers Original earns a 7.5 for delivering a cold-distilled gin of genuine complexity from the Chiltern Hills. The thirteen botanicals are expertly balanced, the orange blossom and barberries add genuine distinction, and the cold distillation method preserves a freshness that hot distillation cannot match. Multiple awards confirm the quality, and at around £38, the super-premium positioning is justified. A Buckinghamshire gem.
