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Jaggers Gin launched at Jaggers Restaurant, Cafe and Cocktail Bar in Rochester - and Mick of Rolling Stones fame gets an invite to try it

You might be forgiven for thinking that Rolling Stones fan Kav Kaur has named her new product Jaggers Gin after rock legend Mick.

After all, her husband Trip went to the same school as him and the day she was born Honky Tonk Woman was number one in the charts.

Sophie Piasecki and Jorens Hearn present Jaggers Gin - the latest addition to the cocktail bar in Rochester high street
Sophie Piasecki and Jorens Hearn present Jaggers Gin - the latest addition to the cocktail bar in Rochester high street

But while the couple are both aficionados of the band, Kav says she has christened her distinctive new tipple after her business Jaggers Restaurant and Cocktail Bar in Rochester.

The mum-of-two decided to create her own brand of booze because she felt other versions “did not meet her expectations”.

She spent nearly six months at a distillery to get the recipe just as she wanted using cinnamon, cardamom and grains of paradise as a nod to her eastern background.

Kav picked up her first batch in November and in March received a wholesaler's licence to sell bottles at other outlets further afield.

She said: “It’s selling well in the restaurant. People come in for a cocktail or gin and tonic and it takes their interest so they try it and like it.

Jaggers Restaurant and Cocktail Bar in Rochester
Jaggers Restaurant and Cocktail Bar in Rochester

“Somebody came in the other day and bought three bottles.”

The 55-year-old renamed the business from Crepes and Co to Jaggers two years ago deriving it from the lawyer in Dickens’ Great Expectations.

She designed the drink to go well with elderflower or tonic water in the summer and with ginger in the winter.

Sticking with the Dickens theme, also on the cocktails menu is The Haversham, a reference to Miss Havisham, also in Great Expectations, a milky chocolate-flavoured drink with sugar around the rim.

Bar tender Jorens Hearn serves Jaggers Gin
Bar tender Jorens Hearn serves Jaggers Gin

For something a little stronger, there’s the Ebenezer Screwdriver, a vodka and bitters concoction topped with sweet orange juice

Needless to say, situated in the cathedral precinct and with Restoration House where Dickens set his famous novel around the corner, Kav is proud of the town’s rich history.

But on the other hand, she wouldn’t mind giving her new brand an extra push by offering Mick Jagger a glass or two.

She said: “If anyone knows how to contact him let me know. I’d invite him to Rochester and give him a free bottle to take away.”

Read what our reviewer had to say about the tipples on offer when they visited here.

Jaggers Gin retails at £40 a bottle.

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