Gorilla Silver Back Old Tom 70cl 43%

Silverback Old Tom Gin If you’re familiar with Old Tom Gins then you’ll know how delightful they are. The style was commonplace in 18th Century England when distillation techniques were crude and harsh spirits were the norm. To make the gin more palatable they were flavoured quite richly and sweetened, though not as sweet as Genever, generally regarded as the forerunner to gin, which came across from Holland in the 16th Century. The name Old Tom Gin purportedly came from wooden plaques shaped like a black cat (an “Old Tom”) mounted on the outside wall of some pubs above a public walkway. Beneath the sign would be a slot and a tube whereupon a penny placed in the slot would lead to a shot of gin being dispensed. Old Tom gins gave way to London Dry’s in around 1830 when the Coffey Still was invented. This revolutionised spirits production and brought with it much purer and cleaner liquids which the gin makers embraced. Gorilla Spirits are among a small group of distillers who have embraced the Old Tom style to produce a Gin of outstanding character and smoothness. It’s the perfect gin for some classic cocktails such as a Tom Collins and it makes a deliciously different G&T too. As with all thier award-winning spirits, £1 from the sale of every bottle of Silverback Old Tom Gin is donated to The Gorilla Organization to support gorilla conservation.