Salcombe Gin (ocean-friendly drinks from Devon)

Salcombe Start Point gin is made by a brand that cares for the local oceans in everything it does, from the ingredients to the packaging. Named after a local Devon lighthouse, it’s from a town that is known for its sailing community.

Bursting with earthy pine juniper and fresh red grapefruit, it also has 10 more hand-picked botanicals. Inspired by the precious cargo of fresh fruits and spices that were once carried by the Salcombe Fruit Schooners.

The drink is crafted at the water’s edge of this popular sailing resort. Using local Dartmoor water. And not just Salcombe, but many Devon places allow you to return empty bottles for refills, for a 20% discount.

Check medication, before consuming grapefruit. 

Rinse then recycle bottles (caps can be left on, machines separate them). Recycle corks in bulk at Recorked. 

How to serve Salcombe Start Point gin

Enjoy over ice or with tonic water, garnish with a slice of red grapefruit.

Salcombe Rosé Sainte Marie gin

Rosé Sainte Marie is a dry rosé gin with delicate tastes of Provence herbs, pink peppercorn, strawberries and fresh lemon peel. Named after an iconic lighthouse in Marseille, from where 19th centruy fruit schooners from Salcombe loaded herbs and citrus fruits bound for England.

Serve with tonic water and a slice of strawberry or lemon peel.

Salcombe Four Seas gin (helps RNLI)

Four Seas gin is named after the four seas that surround our island (can you name them?) This gin features four key flavours of elderberries (from Wales), sea buckthorn (from Cornwall), sugar kelp (from the Irish sea) and lemon peel (smoked over Scottish whisk barrel wood chips). Great with tonic, ice and lemon – or for a coastal Negroni.

This gin is unique in that profits help to support RNLI heroic lifeboat crews. Every sip helps to save lives at sea.

If you know your history, you will be aware of the lifeboat tragedy in 1916, when many local lifeboat crew lost their lives, sailing to rescue crew on a schooner that had run aground at nearby Prawle Point. A huge wave capsized the rowing boat and all but 2 of the 15 crew drowned.

The additional tragedy was that due to communications being down, the lifeboat volunteers did not know that the crew on the schooner had already been saved by a local shore rescue team. So they died rowing out to save people that were already safe.