Nine Summer Spirits That Surprised Us
The world of spirits is changing fast. Traditional distillers are sitting alongside innovative newcomers, flavour boundaries are being pushed further than ever, and consumers are becoming far more adventurous in what they drink.
On this episode of Food Rebels, AJ Sharp was joined by cocktail expert Maria Eastley from the Midnight Muddler and drinks writer and specialist Clare Pope to taste nine fascinating spirits from around the world. From Japanese gin and whisky to premium Polish vodka and bold new flavour infusions, it became clear that today’s drinks industry is less about following tradition and more about creating exceptional flavour, quality and memorable experiences.
Whether you’re a gin lover, whisky fan or simply curious about what’s new, here’s what we discovered.
Ukiyo Tokyo Dry Gin 40% ABV – A Modern Japanese Classic
£32 Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Spiritly, Amazon
Our tasting began with Ukiyo Tokyo Dry Gin, a beautifully balanced spirit inspired by Japanese botanicals.
Distilled with ingredients including yuzu and sansho pepper, it delivers bright citrus aromas before finishing with a gentle warming spice.
The panel loved its freshness and elegance, with the citrus leading into a subtle peppery finish that lingered without becoming overpowering.
Rather than copying a traditional London Dry, Ukiyo embraces Japanese ingredients to create something lighter, cleaner and unmistakably modern.
Perfect serve: A Japanese Gin Fizz with fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup and soda water.
Ukiyo Japanese Nashi Pear Gin 40% ABV – The Surprise Favourite
£34 Ocado & M&S
Next came one of the biggest surprises of the day.
Ukiyo’s Nashi Pear Gin captures the delicate freshness of Japanese pear beautifully. Crisp, aromatic and incredibly light, it demonstrates how fruit-led gins can be expressive without becoming sweet.
The panel described flavours reminiscent of fresh orchard fruit, while AJ commented that it reminded her of an elegant eau-de-vie rather than a traditional flavoured gin.
Served with equal parts tonic and soda water, it becomes an exceptionally refreshing summer drink.
Perfect serve: The Ukiyo Nashi Pear Sonic with soda, tonic and a slice of fresh pear.
Cygnet 22 Gin 44% ABV – Luxury in a Glass
£54.90 from Cygnet’s Shop, Harrods, Waitrose and more
One bottle immediately caught everyone’s attention.
Co-founded by opera singer Katherine Jenkins, Cygnet 22 is crafted using 22 botanicals and finished with Manuka honey, creating one of the smoothest spirits of the tasting.
The story behind the gin makes it even more interesting. Katherine reportedly wanted a gin that would be exceptionally smooth and gentle enough not to be harsh on the voice.
The honey doesn’t make the gin noticeably sweet, instead it contributes a luxurious silky texture that the whole panel loved.
Whether enjoyed in a martini or a classic gin and tonic, it’s a spirit designed to be savoured.
CleanCo’s Clean G 0.0% ABV – Redefining Alcohol-Free Spirits
£16 on the CleanCo website
No modern drinks conversation would be complete without exploring alcohol-free options.
Clean G demonstrates just how sophisticated this category has become.
Packed with juniper, citrus, rosemary and botanical complexity, it doesn’t simply imitate gin—it creates an enjoyable drinking experience in its own right.
Maria, who specialises in low and no-alcohol drinks, explained how exciting the category has become because producers are free to experiment without being restricted by traditional spirit definitions.
For anyone reducing their alcohol intake, this was one of the biggest revelations of the tasting.
Ramsbury Raspberry & Wildflower Honey Gin 38% ABV – Estate-Grown Flavour
£33 from their website: Raspberry Wildflower Gin | Fresh Fruity Flavour | Ramsbury Estates
Produced entirely on the Ramsbury Estate in Wiltshire, this limited-edition gin combines estate-grown wheat spirit with natural raspberry juice and wildflower honey harvested from the estate’s own hives.
The raspberry provides bright fruit while the honey and botanicals add remarkable depth.
Rather than tasting sugary, the balance is elegant and refreshing, making it an ideal summer gin.
It’s also a brilliant example of how provenance has become just as important in spirits as it has long been in food.
Chopin Potato Vodka 40% ABV – Why Potato Makes a Difference
£40.82 from Amazon & Chopin Vodka – Home
Vodka often has a reputation for being neutral.
Chopin proves it can have remarkable personality.
Produced in eastern Poland using locally grown potatoes, this family-owned distillery creates a vodka with creamy texture, subtle green apple, black pepper and citrus notes alongside an impressively long finish.
The tasting also sparked an interesting discussion.
Many people assume vodka is always made from grain, but it can actually be produced from almost any carbohydrate, including potatoes, wheat and even rice.
The potatoes simply create a wonderfully rich, creamy mouthfeel that really stood out during the tasting.
Perfect serve: A beautifully simple Dry Martini with quality dry vermouth and Castelvetrano olives.
Toki Japanese Whisky 43% ABV – The Perfect Introduction
£31 Available at: Amazon, The Whisky Exchange, Tesco
If you’ve always found whisky intimidating, Toki could change your mind.
Created by Suntory, it’s designed to be approachable, elegant and incredibly versatile.
Rather than encouraging people to drink it neat, it’s often served the Japanese way, as a refreshing Highball with chilled soda water over ice.
The panel described it as gentle, balanced and an ideal gateway into the world of Japanese whisky.
Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky 46% – England’s Award-Winning Pioneer
£46.00 available from: Cotswolds Distillery, Master of Malt,Drink Supermarket, Waitrose and Amazon
No spirits tasting would be complete without celebrating one of England’s whisky success stories.
Launched in 2017, Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky made history as the very first whisky ever distilled in the Cotswolds. Since then, it has helped put English whisky firmly on the global map and has become the No. 1 English Single Malt Whisky.
Made using locally grown Cotswolds barley, the whisky is matured in a carefully balanced combination of STR (Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred) ex-red wine casks and premium first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels. The result is a wonderfully rich, approachable whisky bursting with layers of honey, Seville orange marmalade and dark red fruit, all wrapped up in a smooth, satisfying finish.
Wolfie’s Blended Scotch Whisky 40% ABV – Rock ‘n’ Roll Meets Scotch
£29.99 on the website
Co-founded by Sir Rod Stewart, Wolfie’s approaches whisky from a completely different angle.
Rather than focusing entirely on centuries of Scotch tradition, the brand embraces music, nightlife and culture.
Its playful branding perfectly reflects that attitude, positioning itself as a whisky for bars, gigs and social occasions rather than something reserved for special occasions.
Smooth, fruity and approachable, it demonstrates how Scotch can appeal to an entirely new generation of drinkers.
Ramsbury Hot Honey Vodka 38% – Sweet Meets Heat
£33 from their website https://ramsbury.com/product/hot-honey-vodka/
The final spirit of the day certainly left an impression.
Ramsbury’s Hot Honey Vodka combines award-winning estate vodka with honey from the estate’s own hives before finishing with a warming kick of red chilli.
The sweetness arrives first before the gentle warmth builds slowly, creating a beautifully balanced finish that never becomes overpowering.
It would work brilliantly served neat, over ice or as the star ingredient in a spicy cocktail.
Our Tasting Panel’s Favourites
Although every spirit had something unique to offer, everyone had their own highlights.
Maria Eastley
- Favourite Gin: Cygnet 22
- Favourite Overall: Toki Japanese Whisky
- “It’s so approachable and you could use it in lots of different ways.”
Clare Pope
- Favourite Gin: Cygnet 22
- Runner-up: Ukiyo Tokyo Dry Gin
- “I loved the smoothness of Cygnet, but that Japanese dry gin was beautifully balanced.”
AJ Sharp
- Choosing just one proved almost impossible.
- AJ particularly loved:
- Ukiyo Nashi Pear Gin
- Ramsbury Hot Honey Vodka
- Cygnet 22 Gin
- The Nashi Pear Gin stood out for its freshness and originality, while the Hot Honey Vodka was praised for its beautifully balanced sweetness and gentle warmth.
The Biggest Trends We Noticed
Before we even opened the first bottle, one thing became obvious: today’s spirits market is very different from the one we knew twenty years ago.
Drinking less, but drinking better: One of the biggest themes throughout the tasting was quality over quantity. Consumers are increasingly choosing premium spirits with genuine stories behind them. Rather than buying inexpensive bottles, they’re looking for craftsmanship, provenance and exceptional flavour. As the panel discussed, people want brands with authenticity—products that have been thoughtfully created rather than simply marketed well.
Japan is becoming a drinks powerhouse: Without planning it, almost half of the spirits we tasted came from Japan. From bright, citrus-led gins featuring traditional botanicals to beautifully balanced whisky designed for refreshing Highballs, Japanese producers are bringing elegance, precision and innovation to categories traditionally dominated by Europe.
Premium flavoured spirits have grown up: The flavoured gin boom may have settled, but it certainly hasn’t disappeared. Instead of overly sweet novelty spirits, producers are now using carefully selected natural ingredients such as nashi pear, wildflower honey, raspberries and chilli to create genuinely sophisticated drinks that stand proudly alongside classic spirits.
Alcohol-free has become genuinely exciting: The alcohol-free category has evolved dramatically. Rather than simply trying to imitate traditional spirits, brands are creating complex botanical drinks in their own right, offering all the ritual and flavour of a great serve without the alcohol.
More Than Just Great Spirits
Whether it was Katherine Jenkins creating an exceptionally smooth gin, Rod Stewart bringing rock ‘n’ roll to whisky, Ramsbury producing estate-grown spirits from field to bottle, Chopin showcasing traditional Polish craftsmanship or Ukiyo introducing Japanese botanicals to a wider audience, every producer was doing something genuinely different.
Our tasting wasn’t about crowning a single winner, it was about discovering where modern spirits are heading.
And producers willing to challenge convention while still respecting tradition.
That’s exactly the kind of rebellion we love celebrating on Food Rebels.
If you’d like to hear the full tasting, the lively discussion, cocktail ideas and plenty of behind-the-scenes opinions, listen to the complete episode of Food Rebels, hosted by AJ Sharp.
