Flavor Profile
Confluence Gin won “Best Gin of the Year” at the American Distilling Institute’s 2023 competition— and it celebrates the culinary tradition of the Mississippi River valley. There’s about 10 pounds of hand-peeled fresh horseradish in every batch. The five botanicals are macerated together for 20 hours before being distilled together.
Those five botanicals span the globe. The Horseradish celebrates the “Horseradish capital of the world,” Collinsville, Illinois. Pink peppercorn hails from South America, Galangal from Asia and the tradition of gin itself is European.
Tasting notes
Aroma: Gently spiced and vegetal. Notes of parsnip, banana leaf, peppercorn and a hazy hint of wasabi. Beautiful and distinctive.
Flavor: Warming with the horseradish taking center stage. Again, reminiscent of parsnip (see: this gin) with some crisp, bright vegetal notes. Bright ginger spice, some terpenic juniper and pine. Peppercorn adds a warming glow later.
There’s warming autumnal character to this gin, reminiscent of some gently spiced Thanksgiving dishes.
Finish: Warm, but with a notable smoothness. Pronounced, long finish.
Cocktails and suggested serves
Designed for the Bloody Mary, the flavor profile makes this one of the best gins for this cocktail. It pairs beautifully with tomato juice and other savory elements. It’s also a good Negroni gin, with the spice adding a robust pepperines to the standard.
Perhaps the only place I might not look to Confluence Gin is in a creamy or dessert style drink. I’d stay away from the Violet Fizz, Aviation, or Ramos Gin Fizz. While a delicious gin on its own, it’s not an “every cocktail” sort of gin.
Overall, Confluence Gin
Confluence Gin marries a bold, unique perspective with a focus on being not just good at everything, but great at a few things. And it is great at those few things.
I enjoy Confluence Gin, but it will need dedicated attention behind a bar. It is quite unique and deserves to be featured where it works best. The vegetal, horseradish character is novel and well executed– but some might find it a bit too focused here and wish for some citrus notes to balance things out.
Highly recommended in its category.
Awards
