the Gin is IN

Gin from an American perspective, since 2009.
Tags: 4 stars

Farmer’s Botanical Organic Gin

Feb
21
Posted in Bottles of Gin 0
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

“Organic,” for a while I thought was going to be the next BIG thing in spirits. It seemed all at once that vodkas and gins were appearing on the shelf at my local liquor store advertising that the botanicals, the base, everything was organic. So slowly, it seemed an inevitability that the USDA label would start appearing on liquor bottles, proclaiming (legally) that at least 95% of this beverage’s components were produced in accordance with USDA’s guidelines for calling something organic. Well, I won’t turn this into a referendum on the “organic” label, nor on the USDA’s guidelines. Let’s get [...]

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Smooth Ambler’s Greenbrier Gin

Feb
17
Posted in Bottles of Gin 0
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

Warm and balanced with notes that warrant comparison to Genever and Old Tom style gins.

West Virginia is a place that I mentally associate with whiskey. It may be that border with Kentucky. It may be the mountains and the inseparable notions of Appalachia and barrel-aged spirits. It may also be a reality: there’s more distillers making Whiskey in West Virginia making bourbon and whiskey (Smooth Ambler included) than there are those making gin. But nevermind the stereotypes and ignore the preconceived notions. Although Greenbrier gin comes from the heart of moonshine country, it stands on its own while retaining a little bit of those bourbon roots. Getting down to the Base Where are these bourbon roots? [...]

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Darnley’s View

Feb
05
Posted in Bottles of Gin 0
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

Takes the traditional London Dry formula done right and adds a balanced floral note to create a balanced gin which can stand out among its competitors.

Darnley’s view gin (alike many other gins on the market) desires to create a sense of place on your palette. We’ve covered many gins that accomplish this to varying degrees. Caorunn worked to create that vision by choosing a whole slew of native botanicals; Seneca Drums, whose distillery is located in wine country created that vision by stacking traditional gin botanicals on top of a grape spirit base, and yet others (and this is where Darnley’s view come in) take a more abstract approach to that sense of place. Though one of the non-traditional botanicals (Elderflower) does grow wild on [...]

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Gale Force Gin

Jan
30
Posted in Bottles of Gin 2
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

Versatile gin with a fair amount of heat, juniper forward nose and a citrus forward palette. Not much earthiness but a spicy and pleasant finish.

Gale Force is Triple Eight Distillery’s flagship gin. Although Triple Eight Distillery is a microdistillery in the United States, its founding predates many others in the distilling hotbed of New England. Founded in 1997 on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, it was the first microdistillery in the region. Though Triple Eight Distillery is probably best known in the region for its flagship self-titled vodka, Gale Force Gin is a worthy addition to their line that could make more waves (get it?!) with gin’s rising popularity. Bad puns aside, let’s get on to the gin. Gale Force Gin is a throwback of sorts. In [...]

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Old Raj (55%)

Sep
27
Posted in Bottles of Gin 2
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

Warm and nicely balanced even if the Saffron is a background player here.

This review is only for the 55% ABV version of Old Raj.I have not had the 46% version. Though the 55% shares much in common with its lower ABV sister, they are different products. This one is the blue one, the other one is red. Now that we’ve cleared that up…. Old Raj begins with a classic set of botanicals among which are juniper, citrus, coriander, cassia, and other classics. But what really sets it apart is is slight golden tint, which is a result of the post-distillation addition of saffron. This isn’t the first saffron-infused gin that we’ve reviewed. [...]

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Bombay Sapphire East

Sep
23
Posted in Bottles of Gin 7
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

Peppery and only slightly citrusy. Plenty of juniper and mellow earthiness combined with some floral and herbal notes largely owing to the Lemongrass.

 Let’s start at the very beginning. I was taught at a young age that it the most logical, and perhaps “best,” place to start. There once was a time in my life where gin at the bar was limited to the standards. The junipers. The burning sensation of a foreign beverage. One I didn’t quite understand. It may have been my predilection for the color blue. It may have been pure chance, that my eye, wandered to that shelf in the back and saw the blue bottle- faintly illuminated from the back-bar lights. It was Bombay Sapphire. and it was [...]

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DH Krahn Gin

Sep
14
Posted in Bottles of Gin 0
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

Notes of lemongrass and ginger compliment the complex citrus blend of flavors that dominate the palate.

Krahn has been on the lower shelf of my neighborhood liquor store for a long time. And for some reason I was always reluctant to try. It was the last gin that they stock that I bought.  And once I had it at home and began mixing with it, I was not sure why I had taken so long. It was actually quite excellent. First a bit of background on DH Krahn gin. Its an upstate New York microdistillery founded by two graduates of Cornell University. They do a few things to distinguish themselves from the outset. Firstly, the user [...]

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Berkshire Mountain’s Ethereal Gin Batch No. 4

Jul
16
Posted in Bottles of Gin 2
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

A peppery juniper punch with a mellow anise aftertaste.

Berkshire Mountain Distillers are best known for its mainline of gin known as Greylock Gin. And although I went to Astor Place Wine and Spirits looking specifically for Greylock, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the green label and a name like “Ethereal Gin.” The Ethereal Gins are small-batch, handcrafted, and limited edition. Other versions exist such as #3 in a yellow bottle, #2, in the pink bottle, and #1 in a green one.  Each one is a limited batch and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Fortunately, it seems every year they Berkshire Mountain releases a new one, and if [...]

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Bols Genever

Feb
21
Posted in Bottles of Gin 6
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

A smoky and complex genever very heavy on the traditional flavor elements.

Way back before this American Dry/London Dry business, there was Dutch Genever. and things were good. Genever is truly a throwback in gins, with Bols’ recipe going back to one created in 1820. Genever is a legally protected name, so alike real champagne, the origins are certain. As a protected name it implies its origins in Belgium, Netherlands, or a couple provinces of Germany or France. Bols is from the Netherlands where it has operated at the center of the Dutch distilling industry since the early 17th century. On to the drink. I’ve read many descriptions of Genever, but the [...]

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Aviation Gin

Feb
16
Posted in Bottles of Gin 0
Juniper Spice Heat Citrus Floral
Gin Flavor Profile

A sippable gin with overt floral notes with a balanced citrus and juniper timbre. Hints of spice come to the surface more when sipped warm.

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I cracked open the bottle of Aviation gin. The bottle, the name, the styling: it all said “classic, London dry” to me. For those of you in the know already, it’s truly one of the new breed of American Dry. It is big and bold, but with the juniper in the background. It’s more of the bassist in this band. The citrus and the other flavors are in the front. I opened the bottle, and was struck by how floral it was. It reminded me of G’vine Floraison; however, upon tasting [...]

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