“You’re not going to make a pink gin, are you?”
That was the question we kept hearing. From industry pals, friends and family. Every time we hinted that something new was in the works, someone would say it. “You’re not going to make a pink gin, are you?”
And every time, we swore blind that we weren’t.
But secretly… we 100%, most definitely were.
Not the sugary, berry-laced kind that’s flooded the shelves in recent years (no shade - there’s a time and a place for those). What we had in mind was something truer to the original pink gin: a classic London Dry with a touch of bitters, aromatic, elegant, with that satisfying bittersweet backbone we love so much in a Negroni.
So we went for it.
Bittersweet citrus, aromatics, complex floral notes.
We wanted to bottle The Negroni Hour. That golden, unhurried moment when the sun’s sinking and the world softens. When you’ve finished the day’s chaos, the table’s set, and you’re pouring a drink with something salty nearby and your favourite people around. The aperitivo hour.
Daisy, AKA Distiller Daisy, former chef, oldest friend, solid gold taste buds, started developing the recipe. (I’d been lobbying for orange, not pink grapefruit, which she wisely ignored, thank god)
The distillery smelled incredible for weeks: grapefruit zest in the air, the kind that hits you before you even open the door. From her very first trial, we knew she’d struck gold. It was punchy, citrusy, full of character, and after a few tweaks, it became the Golden Hour we know today.
It’s distilled with shedloads of fresh pink grapefruit - both flesh and peel -along with cardamom, and pink peppercorn. Then a portion is infused with rose petals, elderberries, and rose hips, which lend that peachy, golden blush and floral top notes.
A few weeks before launch, we decided to sit down together and just enjoy it- the finished gin, ready at last. We poured a couple of measures, clinked glasses, and patted ourselves on the back.
Then we added tonic.
And it turned cloudy.
Our stomachs dropped. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” we said, a lot.
Poor Daisy was still working a full-time job at that point, so time was not on our side. We frantically called every distiller we knew, consulted every bit of research we had, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
Turns out, we’d had our first encounter with louching. Because Golden Hour is so full of fresh citrus peel and resinous botanicals, it’s absolutely loaded with natural essential oils. At still strength (around 70%), there’s enough alcohol to keep those oils dissolved. But once we diluted it to bottling strength, it was on the edge- and when we added tonic, the balance tipped, the oils separated, and the gin “bloomed” cloudy.
We could have chill-filtered it, but that would have stripped out all those delicious oils, and with them so much flavour. Alcohol and oil are two of nature’s best flavour carriers. Lose one, and you lose the magic.
So instead, we decided not to cut it quite so far. We bottled it at 45% ABV. A blessing in disguise, really- that strength suits its bold, aromatic character perfectly.
We found the name one evening at our old distillery site. It had been raining for weeks, and then suddenly the clouds broke -one of those early autumn days where the sunlight feels like a reward. We took our glasses out onto the little office balcony, the sun just starting to dip, and someone said, “God, isn’t this a nice gin to drink at golden hour?”
And that was it.
The name stuck instantly - it was the easiest one we’ve ever chosen!
It’s fair to say Golden Hour has a bit of a glow about it now. It’s won gold at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (our industry’s version of the Oscars), a Great Taste Award, and Champion Spirit at Taste of the West. But beyond the medals, it’s the gin people come back for again and again. No matter the season, no matter what else we release, this is the one that flies.
For us, it was the, difficult second album, and we took a risk by trusting our instincts. But it became everything we wanted Loveday to be: no shortcuts, made properly, full of flavour, and brimming fresh botanicals, never anything artificial.
And every time we pour a glass now, we still feel that same pride.
This is a gin for slowing down with. For long days that end in golden light. For catching up, unwinding, and catching up over.
If you love bittersweet, aromatic flavour profiles, or if you’re even remotely a Negroni fan, this one’s most definitely for you.
