Cygnet 77 Gin 70cl
Cygnet 77 is the distillery's most extravagant gin, a rare release built around a sprawling 77 botanicals that pushes the category to its outer edge. This is a collector's bottle as much as a drinking one.
Made in small batches on the Swansea coast, Cygnet 77 takes the aromatic approach of the house style and multiplies it. Assembling a coherent gin from 77 botanicals is a genuine feat of blending, and the distillery treats it as a statement piece, produced in limited quantities and priced accordingly.
The aromatic profile is dense and layered, moving through floral top notes into a mid-palate of citrus, warm spice and herbal complexity, with juniper woven through rather than dominant. It is rich and rounded on the tongue, with waves of flavour that shift as the glass opens. Whether 77 botanicals genuinely outperforms a tighter recipe is a fair question, but there is no denying the depth on show.
At around £140 this sits firmly in special-occasion and gift territory. It is a bottle for someone who wants the most ambitious gin Wales can offer, best explored neat or in a simple serve that lets the botanicals speak.
How to Serve
Serve over a large ice cube with a light, neutral tonic so the botanicals aren't masked. A large balloon glass helps the aromas unfurl.
Where to Drink It
The American Bar at The Savoy, for an occasion serve. Dandelyan-era alumni haunt Lyaness on the South Bank, strong on complex spirits. Swift in Soho, for a considered pour.
Food Pairings
Best enjoyed on its own, or alongside a few salted almonds and citrus-cured fish.
