Rugby legend Sir Gareth Edwards has joined forces with boutique distillery, The Gower Gin Company, to launch a bespoke gin in celebration of him scoring ‘The Greatest Try’ ever in rugby against the All Blacks 50 years ago.
Sir Gareth and his wife Lady Maureen Edwards were already fans of Gower Gin, so when the idea that a special gin could be created as part of the anniversary of ‘The Greatest Try’, they couldn’t wait to get their glasses filled.
The Greatest Try London Dry Gin is made with 15 botanicals to represent each member of a rugby team and the union of rugby playing nations all over the world. Bara Brith spices from Wales to represent Sir Gareth Edwards blend with those from 11 other countries to commemorate that amazing Barbarian try 50 years ago.
As part of a 12-month celebration of the event, two of Sir Gareth’s close friends have also commissioned Abergavenny artist Elin Siân Blake to paint what is deemed to be one of rugby’s most iconic tries, in the 1973 game between the Barbarians and New Zealand’s All Blacks.
The Greatest Try painting is available as a limited edition, framed & numbered Giclée print, signed by both Elin Siân Blake and Sir Gareth Edwards, with a portion from the sale of each print going to two charities: Working Options in Education, and the Sir Gareth Edwards Cancer Charity.
Each bottle of The Greatest Try Gin will be sold in a special commemorative box with an original autograph from Sir Gareth and individually numbered, so the drinker can take a piece of rugby history along with them. The colours on the label and the box represent The Barbarians as well as Sir Gareth’s former club, Cardiff. Elin Sian Blake’s original painting also features on the inside of the bottle, so the drinker can see Sir Gareth scoring his iconic try with every shot.
Sir Gareth said of the gin: “I’m partial to a G and T of a weekend, so when the idea of having our very own ‘The Greatest Try’ gin was talked about, I loved the idea.
“We worked with Gower Gin on getting the bottle and box design perfect, so those who buy the gin can either have something attractive and decorative to keep, or something that tastes nice as well as looks good on the bar or shelf.”
Sir Gareth added: “It was great to work with Siân and Andrew at Gower Gin to get the tasting notes of our gin exactly how we liked them, and we hope that those who buy it enjoy drinking the gin as much as we do.”
Andrew Brooks of Gower Gin said: “On meeting Sir Gareth and The Greatest Try team we were blown away by their enthusiasm and wanted to do something really special. We used our knowledge of flavour combinations to select 12 botanicals that represented the top twelve ranked rugby union nations, a perfect harmony of flavour. The label design had to be just as special, and we collaborated on something unique to do the Greatest Try justice. Sir Gareth has been a hero of mine ever since I saw him get his 50th cap at Twickenham. Working on this project has been a real honour.”
