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In fall 2018, That Boutique-y Gin Company partnered with Lizzie Ostrom— author and perfumer— to create a line of gins inspired by scent. Beware of the Woods Gin is a tongue in cheek play on the coniferous, earthy and forest-like scents of many men’s perfumes.
Concept wise, this gin includes pine needles, cubeb and nutmeg— as well as Icelandic Moss of which I’ve only experiences in Vor Gin thus far.
As with some of these other “olfactory” gins from That Boutique-y Gin Company, Beware of the Woods Gin is sadly another Harvey Nichols exclusive.
Tasting Notes
The nose of Beware of the Woods Gin opens up with delicate aromas of pine. Specifically forest floor covered in fallen pine needles and spruce sap. There’s an earthy greenness about with a delicate hint of cubeb poking out from the forest. Perhaps even invoking a slight menthol pine notes of a camphor tree.
The palate is lovely and green, with heady notes of pine becoming darker and thicker as the palate unfolds. Beware of the Woods stands in stark contrast to the pine notes of other pine gins, like Fillier’s Pine Blossom. But true to its name— it’s more like a shaded pine wood than a bright spring blossom.
In more detail, it begins with a bit of pine. Mid-palate there’s a orange, buttery creamy note, like frosted spice cake with fresh cracker pepper on top. The peppery notes continue with a piperine glow as more literal pine, spruce and juniper comes on a bit later.
I think the finish is the most beautiful part of Beware of the Woods Gin. It’s delightfully complex with spice, conifer and traditional gin notes merging together.
Overall, Beware of the Woods Gin
Fans of coniferous gins— in particular Blue Line Gin and St. George’s Terroir Gin I think will find a lot in these woods to not just be wary of— but to seek out.
It seems to steer far away from some of the more complex cypress, sandalwood, vetiver, and oud aromas that underpin a lot of perfumes that fans of coniferous scents are familiar with. Though I’m not sure I would drink Dasein’s Winter Nights— it does suggest that there’s even more overlap between gin and coniferous perfume than Beware of the Woods seems prepared to engage with. It doesn’t even go as far as G’vine’s perfume inspired Nouaison does to push the idea of gin as perfume.
Overall, while this is a solid gin, I would have been excited to see the concept pushed even farther.