Trevethan Grapefruit and Lychee Cornish Gin
Trevethan Grapefruit and Lychee Cornish Gin – Lighter in juniper but still a classic gin at heart, a big hit of grapefruit in the middle with the sweetness of the Lychee lingering in the dry finish.
Type
Country
Producer
Featured Flavours
Alcohol %
40%
Serving Size
- 25ml
Suggested with
In Cocktails
Trevethan Grapefruit and Lychee Cornish Gin
The Trevethan Grapefruit and Lychee Cornish Gin is our only “distilled” gin, which means we make our classic London Dry (also distilled but in a very specific way) on our pot stills Doris and Rose then on a small 40L still we make an essence of just grapefruit and lychee to be added to the London Dry Gin after distillation. The result is the Trevethan Grapefruit and Lychee Cornish Gin is an extremely smooth gin with the added zest and sweetness of grapefruit and lychee. Each batch is distilled by hand for a truly seasonal Cornish twist.
The Nose and Aroma
The experience opens with a vibrant, zesty punch of pink grapefruit that is immediately assertive and fresh. Unlike synthetic fruit gins, the aroma here retains the crisp, oil-rich quality of freshly peeled citrus skin. Drifting just beneath this sharp citrus top note is the grounding scent of piney juniper and a subtle, perfumed floral sweetness—the first hint of the lychee. It smells undeniably summery, balancing the “dry” character of a traditional London Dry with a lush, tropical bouquet that feels open and inviting.
The Palate
On the first sip, the gin delivers a sophisticated interplay between tart and sweet. The initial taste is dominated by the sharp, clean acidity of the grapefruit, which wakes up the palate without making you pucker. This zesty attack quickly softens as the lychee flavor blooms across the tongue. The lychee brings a mellow, watery sweetness and a distinct rose-like floral quality that rounds off the sharp edges of the citrus. Underpinning this fruitiness is the complex Trevethan base; earthy notes of coriander and a hint of creamy vanilla provide a savory backbone that keeps the spirit tasting like a proper gin, rather than a fruit liqueur.
The Finish
The finish is remarkably smooth and dry, avoiding the cloying sugariness often found in “pink” or fruit gins. As the bright citrus fades, it leaves behind a lingering, fragrant sweetness from the lychee that clings gently to the palate. There is a final whisper of herbaceousness—likely from the meadowsweet and gorse flower used in the botanical blend—which provides a crisp, clean end to the sip. It leaves a refreshing aftertaste that invites a second glass, particularly when mixed with a premium tonic and a slice of fresh grapefruit.
Roots in the “Roaring Twenties”
The story begins in 1929 with Norman Trevethan, a chauffeur for the Earl and Lady St Germans at the Port Eliot Estate in Cornwall. Norman was a man who straddled two worlds: the high-society cocktail parties of 1920s London, to which he drove his employers, and the rural traditions of the Cornish countryside. Inspired by the gin craze of the “Roaring Twenties,” he created a family “bathtub gin” recipe that combined the sophistication of a London Dry with hand-foraged botanicals from the Cornish hedgerows, specifically gorse and elderflower. This recipe remained a family secret for decades, known only to the Trevethan household.
The Modern Resurrection
The gin lay dormant for nearly a century until 2015, when Norman’s grandson, Robert Cuffe, teamed up with his friend and chemist John Hall. Working initially from a garage, they set out to reverse-engineer and resurrect Norman’s original 1929 recipe. They stayed true to the “old school” method, using a traditional one-shot distillation process and retaining the signature Cornish botanicals that gave the gin its unique sense of place. Their success in recreating the smooth, oily profile of the original spirit marked the birth of the Trevethan Distillery as a commercial entity.
The Creation of the Grapefruit & Lychee Edition
The Grapefruit and Lychee variation has a unique origin story compared to the rest of the core range. It was originally commissioned as an exclusive bottling for a specialist retailer, Drink Finder, around 2018. The challenge was to create a fruit-forward gin that didn’t sacrifice the integrity of a true gin.
To achieve this, John Hall developed a unique “essence” method. Unlike many “pink” gins that simply add sugar and flavoring after distillation, Trevethan distills a concentrated essence of grapefruit and lychee separately on a small 40-liter still. This essence is then blended into their classic London Dry base. The result was so successful—lauded for being a “dry” fruit gin rather than a liqueur—that it was quickly moved from a limited exclusive to a permanent fixture in their core lineup.
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The Trevethan recipe, hidden for 80 years, was revived through love for the craft of fine spirits, and a scientific mindset that always seeks to find perfect balance.
Founded in 1929 on the necessary ingenuity and seasonality of traditional, rural Cornish recipes, Trevethan Distillery have, using science and innovative techniques, taken that inventiveness to a new level to craft world class Spirits.
