Ha'Penny Rhubarb Gin

Ha'Penny Rhubarb Gin is a 40% ABV (80 proof), 750mL small-batch pink gin from Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin, Ireland. The producer describes it as pot-distilled with no artificial colouring or flavouring: the standard Ha'Penny gin comes off the still and is brought down to bottling strength with freshly pressed rhubarb juice instead of plain water, which is what gives the gin its pink colour. Rhubarb leads a list of 13 further botanicals — juniper, blackberries, dandelion flowers, lavender, geranium, orange and lemon peel, cracked black pepper, anise, angelica root, liquorice bark, coriander and cassia. The World Gin Awards named it Country Winner for Ireland in the Flavoured Gin category in 2022. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.

• ABV: 40% (80 proof) — producer shop and US listings (a 41% figure circulates on Irish retail for the 70cl bottling)
• Size: 750mL
• Style: Flavoured gin — small-batch, pot-distilled, naturally pink
• Botanicals: Fresh rhubarb plus 13 botanicals including juniper, blackberry, dandelion flower, lavender, geranium, citrus peels, black pepper, anise, angelica, liquorice bark, coriander and cassia
• Colour: From the fresh rhubarb juice used to proof the gin — no artificial colouring or flavouring (producer)
• Awards: Country Winner (Ireland), Flavoured Gin — World Gin Awards 2022; Silver 2023 and Bronze 2024 (same body); Gold — Gin Masters 2022
• Producer: Pearse Lyons Distillery, Dublin — a family-owned distillery in a former church in the Liberties, opened 2017

Dublin's Bridge, in a Gin

The Ha'Penny range is named for Dublin's Ha'penny Bridge, and the producer chose several of its botanicals — geranium, dandelion, lavender and blackberry — because they would have grown in nearby Phoenix Park in Victorian times, when the bridge was built. The distillery behind it, Pearse Lyons, works out of a renovated former church in the Liberties, and its rhubarb gin is the range's signature: the pink is not a flavouring trick but the rhubarb juice the spirit is proofed with. Explore the brand on the Ha'penny vendor page or browse the wider spirits shelf.

Tasting Notes

Producer's notes: Nose: Rhubarb, juniper and citrus, with botanical spice. Palate: Fresh rhubarb and a botanical mix over a resinous, juniper-forward core. Finish: Silky and lingering, with a crisp rhubarb close.

How to Enjoy

The producer's signature serve: premium tonic water over plenty of ice with a wedge of orange. It is also described as enjoyable on the rocks, where the rhubarb reads sweetest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it pink? The gin is brought down to bottling strength with freshly pressed rhubarb juice rather than plain water — the colour is the rhubarb, with no artificial colouring or flavouring, per the producer.

Is it a gin liqueur? No — it is a full-strength flavoured gin at 40% ABV (the World Gin Awards enters it as a Flavoured Gin), not a sweetened liqueur.

Where is it made? At Pearse Lyons Distillery in the Liberties, Dublin, Ireland.

A Dublin gin that gets its pink from the rhubarb itself — order Ha'Penny Rhubarb Gin from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.