The Gin Passport

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

For the final day of this year's challenge, I honestly can't think of a more fitting gin to showcase than Twelve Keys Gin. Not only does it fit the countdown perfectly, but it also has a lovely little link with Epiphany.

Epiphany, celebrated on 6 January, is traditionally associated with the arrival of the Three Wise Men, who presented gifts to the baby Jesus: gold to symbolise his royal birth, frankincense to represent his divine nature, and myrrh to recognise his mortality.

Twelfth Night is the traditional end of the Christmas celebrations and falls on the evening before Epiphany. For many people, this is when the Christmas decorations come down, although some traditions keep them up until Candlemas on 2 February — 40 days after Christmas — which marks the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Now for the gin connection...

Twelve Keys Gin contains 12 botanicals, but interestingly, no citrus.

The gin is distilled in four separate quarters and then blended together:

🔑 Figs, apricots and quince
🔑 Honey, caraway and basil
🔑 Angelica, gentian and orris
🔑 Juniper, cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh

And there it is — the link!

The recommended serve is with fresh figs and coffee beans, but being the festive season, I couldn't resist creating something a little more Christmassy. I've served it with golden ginger ale, dehydrated orange wheels and cranberries, and sipped it by candlelight — specifically a candle scented with frankincense and myrrh.

The result? Delicious! The botanicals stand up beautifully against the ginger ale, and those warming festive notes really shine through.

And so ends my third annual Christmas Challenge.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined in, shared their creations and found wonderfully creative ways to interpret the song and its gifts. I love a bit of outside-the-box thinking, and it's been so much fun seeing everyone's different takes each day.

I'm sure I'll be back next Christmas with another challenge and, hopefully, a completely different angle or interpretation.

Now for the next challenge...

A virtual tour perhaps? Which part of my gin collection should I showcase? It's a scary thought — they take SO much time — but I do love them all the same. After all, half the fun is discovering the stories behind the bottles and the people who create them.

Cheers! 🍸🎄!