Cornwall LivingIssue #126
A cocktail of delights
A walk along a beautiful Cornish beach and a spirit of distinction was born.
The idea to make gin was conjured up after a throw away remark: “You like gin, so why not make it?” As Angie and George continued walking their dog on Rock beach, little did they realise what that simple comment had put in motion. All they had to do was come up with a really good gin. Simple, right?
Angie and George take up the story: “The beginning was the hardest part, when producing the gin to a recipe was only an idea. Initially we produced 25 bottles just to test out on friends and family. After a big thumbs up and with great excitement we produced 500 bottles and, having sold them, we’d stumbled upon a market eager for more. Next came the production of our first 1,000 litre distillation – very scary, but once bottled and released, they too were very well received. The adventure had begun and really became an unstoppable force.” It wasn’t long after that a fashion began to emerge for ‘instant’ cocktails in the home market, which is when Angie and George began to devise a series of rums to add to their repertoire. Five years later, and Cornish Rock Gin has eight gins and eight rums in its portfolio!
Although not strictly a cocktail, their Rock Blue Angel Gin simply served with ice and tonic would be acceptable in any cocktail bar. Their Rock Mellow Yellow Gin, meanwhile, makes the perfect dry martini – just mix chilled dry vermouth with a shot of Rock Mellow and stir with an olive on a stick. Another gin cocktail they’ve devised was for the opening night of Hillary Bonners’ play Dead Lies. To make the ‘Dead Lies’ cocktail, add a shot of Rock Cherry Kiss gin with a shot of Campari and top up with Fever Tree raspberry and rose petal soda.
As for rum cocktails, their Coconut Paradise Cornish Rum makes the perfect piña colada. Then there’s the Tropics Mango & Passionfruit Cornish Rum, which makes the most amazing Porn Star Martini! Alternatively, if you’re after the best ever espresso martini, grab some White Espresso Cornish Rum and their Golden Vanilla Cornish Rum topped with espresso coffee – very special.
Many more cocktails are set to emerge from the Cornish Rock Distillery, so be sure to keep an eye on the website and follow them on social media.
Cornish Rock Gin
Facebook: RockGinCornwall
