On Friday 29th of July, in partnership with Eden Mill Distillery St Andrews, we held a launch event for our new gin tasting menu. We created a six course menu, all based around the botanicals & flavours found in the gin. Our chefs created and played around with many different dishes and swapped ingredients here and there until they were satisfied they had found the perfect pairings on each dish! 

For the night we set up two long tables for our guests. We lined the tables with Eden Mill Gin bottles, all filled with a single rose. Simple but beautiful.
All our guests had their own place setting, which they could find on our seating plan. All places were set with a menu of the dishes for the event and a comment card. The comment cards were saved till the end of the night, we love to hear our customers thoughts of our events. Lily (Tailend veteran) and Shona (Eden Mill prodigy) introduced themselves and gave an insight of how the evening was going to run, explaining more in-depth about how and why each of the dishes compliments the gin and vice-versa. Shona also explained how each of the gin was created and a little of the history behind Eden Mill. 

​Upon arrival guests were greeted with a complimentary glass of bubbles. While they found their seats and we introduced them to the other guests for the evening, we prepared the first course & the matching gin. 

First Course 
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For the 1st course we had Oak Smoked Scallop, Pea Puree & Pork Belly served with Oak Gin, Thyme & Peppercorns. 

The Smoke from the Scallop obviously works amazingly well with the woody flavour of the oak gin.
We feel this dish completely encapsulates Scotland. The rich, woody, with a hint of caramel creates a nice warming feeling. The peppercorns in the gin give a nice, subtle spice, stopping the dish being too earthy. 
The sweet scallop & sweet pea puree are complimented by the salty pork belly. Everything in the dish and the gin work together to create a perfectly balanced entry dish! 

Second Course
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For the 2nd course we created a sweet, salmon taco. As the taco was such huge success on our original gin tasting menu we decided to reinvent rather than take it off.
This time using salmon, with mango & chilli salsa. This dish has a Spanish feel to it, the sweet taste from the mango works fantastic with the heat from the chillies. The Salmon Skin has been blackened on the chargrill using a cajun seasoning. 
We paired this dish with Eden Mills Hop Gin, matching the garnish to the salsa with mango & chilli. The hop gin has a soft tropical fruit to the nose, so pairing this with mango and a hint of chilli kept the fruity, floral theme running. The Mango salsa on the taco marries in perfectly the tropical notes from the gin. 
This taco is also available on Tailends regular main menu. 

Third Course 

Tuna Tataki W' Citrus Slaw & Wasabi Avocado, this dish has been influenced by different techniques of Asian cuisine. The Tuna has been marinated in soy, honey, Chilli, Coriander & Japanese Miren. This dish is INCREDIBLE, It tastes amazing!
When we tested the menu out on the Eden Mill team, this was by far the favourite dish. On our launch night, again, it was the clear winner!

​The spice from the wasabi avocado and the ginger has enough heat in it to stop this dish from being too sweet. The citrus slaw blends with the lime garnish in the gin, the original gin itself is created using citrus zest. The slaw and the garnish pull that element out from the gin and tie the whole thing together. Again the lime in the gin really helps to clean the palette from the marinade of the tuna. 

The chefs were focused on cleaning the palette after each dish, meaning that our guests could really taste and appreciate all of the flavours in each and all of our courses individually.  

Additional Course 
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On this new Gin Tasting Menu we have the optional extra of an additional course! Using Eden Mills new Golf Gin, we have created gin filled popsicle. Blackberries, Basil, Fever tree Tonic & Eden Mill Golf Gin all frozen together to make a grown-up lollipop! Don't be fooled by its fun sized appearance, this little guy packs a punch! 

​Fourth Course 

​Tailend Classic Humble Haddock & Eden Mill Classic 19th Brew. 

Tailends Fish and Chips is always a crowd pleaser, as is Eden Mills 19th Brew. Of course Tailend is famous for its fish and chips so we feel its only right thats its on our gin tasting menu.
We often give customers the choice of the 19th Brew or a mini glass of bubbles, as we know not everyone enjoys the taste of beer. Even if the 19th is delicious! 
Beer and Prosecco work in the same way with fish and chips because its the bubbles in both that work to cut through the fat from the batter and cleanse the palette, making them the perfect pairing. 
Our batter is known for being light and fluffy and the 19th is a light golden ale, stopping the course from being too heavy as this is the 4th course, theres still a little room for your dessert. Something you definitely don't want to miss out on! 

Fith Course 

White Chocolate, Vanilla & Raspberry Parfait W' Elderflower Gel & Pistachio Praline Served with Love Gin and Raspberries 

For our final course we wanted something a little special! This sweet but light dessert is incredibly tasty, we kept the pinky tone of the love gin throughout the dessert and stuck to using raspberries and strawberries as the main ingredients. Elderflower works beautifully with this gin and we have previously used elderflower tonic as a dash but this time we decided to turn it into a jelly and serve it with the food. The slight saltiness from the pistachios counter balances all the fruity sweet elements and makes this final course perfectly balanced! Everyone has loved this dessert so far, definitely a winner for Instagram!

As the raspberries have been frozen into ice cubes the flavour slowly infuses the gin as the ice starts to melt. This dessert tastes as good as it looks, and it looks beautiful. The green from the lemon balm, and pistachio balances the red tones from the fruit. 

The Gin Launch Event was a huge success, both staff and guest had a great time. Many of the guests at the launch had previously attended other events we have held, so its great compliment to us that they would want to return again. 

Holding events like this is still relatively new to Tailend, but it something we have found a genuine love for. So don't worry if you missed this one, we have many more planned for the future. If you have any requests for events we are open to suggestions!

Many thanks to Shona for coming on behalf of Eden Mill and supporting us on the night and a special thanks to Lily for hosting the event on her last shift at Tailend. Lily has been working with Tailend for her 4 years at St Andrews university and its incredibly sad to see her leave. We wish her all the luck in the world for her future adventures. 

Our Gin Tasting Menu is now available to book, this menu must be booked in advanced and a vegetarian option is available. Please make the restaurant aware of any dietary requirements when booking. We also have Gin Tasting Vouchers for sale on our website! 
Call: 01334 474 070 
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.thetailend.co.uk
Find us: 130 Market Street, St Andrews, KY16 9PD