When you think about a Caribbean liquor, you think about rum. But did you know that other liquors are made on the islands too? One of those liquors is the Blue Light Caribbean Gin. And this blog is all about my experience with this special gin! Keep reading and start tasting…
The search
Thanks to the gin blog ‘alles over gin’ (Dutch for All about Gin) I discovered this little pearl of the Caribbean. On world ocean day ‘alles over gin’ spend an instagram post regarding the important function the ocean has. In that post they gave attention to the Blue Light Ocean edition. A gin where a part of the revenue is used to help to restore the reef and to protect sea life. I was interested in a split second!
I started my search to find this special gin in Europe, because that’s where I live. As a Caribbean lover and promoter I needed to discover how tasty that gin was! And yes I am a gin lover too. After searching the internet I finally found an online store that was able to ship the gin to Europe. Due to covid, brexit and high transportation costs, not every store was able or willing to ship it. Lucky for me Caribbean is Paradise was. Happy me!
Unboxing the giftbox
After ordering the two bottles, the blue light caribbean gin and the blue light ocean gin, I had to be patient. The bottles were shipped from Saint Martin. The French part of the St Maarten Island. So it took a while before it reach my house. As soon as the mail man delivered the package, I knew my patience was rewarded!
A wonderful box appeared to be in the cardboard package. Damage proof and so nice to see. Caribbean in Paradise definitely knows how to treat their customers. The box and the bottles felt like a gift to myself. Check the pictures yourself!
The Caribbean gins
Back to the main subject of this blog… the gins! Two lovely looking gins. Full Caribbean style. Sunny looks, lots of blue colors on the labels (I felt like watching the ocean) and nice bottles. The Blue Light Caribbean Gin is the colorless one, the Blue Light Ocean edition is the blue one. It turned blue by adding natural paint, some pigment of a small flower that grows on the island.
Used botanicals
Two gins, two different blends of botanicals. And two different styles of distilling.
The Blue Light Caribbean Gin, also called the Boutique Batch Gin, is 100% natural, no artificial ingredients used. It has hints of nutmeg, cacao, cardamom, grapefruit and a few more Caribbean Spices. All spices can be obtained on the island. Which other spices they’ve used? I couldn’t figure it out by tasting and they keep them as a bit of a secret. The only way to discover it, is by visiting the distillery on Grenada.
The Blue Light Ocean Edition is also a 100% natural gin. It retrieved it blue color by using a locally grown flower as an infusion. This gin also has some hints of nutmeg, cocoa, cardamom, grapefruit and some others. The difference with the Boutique Batch Gin is in the color and a bit of a floral ton.
World Ocean Day Awareness
The Blue Light Ocean Edition has another function than only creating a tasty gin. It is distilled to create awareness of the loss of important coral reefs at the Caribbean (and worldwide). A part of the revenue of this gin goes directly into contributing the rebuilding and protection of the marine environment. So what are you waiting for? Start drinking this gin and start contributing to ocean protection and enhancement.
To create some extra awareness during the launch, they tried a new way of resting the gin before bottling it. Instead of resting it in a barrel in the distillery, they let it rest in the water. Yes, the barrel joined the underwater life for two weeks in front of the coast. And in fact, the swell of the water influenced the flavor of the gin. How? Hopefully we will taste one day. Only the attendees during the launch were able to try it. The rest of the batch was bottled for special tastings.
The tasting of the Blue Light Caribbean Gin
Buying gin and opening boxes is one part of the story. The second part of the story is tasting the gin. And discovering which tonic suits the used botanicals best. That was really the tough part. I don’t think this gin is coming into its own by using a tonic. I tried Fever Tree Indian tonic, Mediterrean tonic and Elderflower tonic. It was ok, but it was not the best combination I think. I will look for other premium tonics to mix it with.
In the meantime… I will make gin-coctails without tonic! And no, for sure I don’t regret it. I found and created some recipes and will them share soon. So come back soon to find out!
Do you want to give it a try by yourself? You can buy the bottles via one of the addresses on the Blue Light Caribbean Gin website or you can buy them via Caribbean is Paradise. Because they were so excited that I wanted to order some bottles that they gave me a discount code for the readers of my blog. So if you want to try these gins – or buy other luxury Caribbean products, visit their online store and fill in this promotion code: atthecaribbean15. You will receive a discount of 15% on your purchase this entire year!
