Origin: Arezzo, Italy with Botanicals

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Arezzo, Italy is located in a fertile floodplain on the Arno River, which is among the most important rivers in central Italy. Arezzo has a temperate Mediterranean climate, and for those of you taking notes for trivia nights at your local bar, the University of Oklahoma actually has a branch in Arezzo. According to my notes, this Origin gin is the closest the state of Oklahoma has come to having a gin thus far.

Many distillers actively seek out Italian juniper in their gins. It’s reported to be among the best quality in the world, and among the most predictable in terms of flavor from growing season to growing season.

This is the companion piece to the Origin: Arezzo, Italy with just juniper

Tasting Notes

Arezzo, Italy juniper with botanicals actually turns out to be a rather nice gin right now. Piney and fresh, but creamy lemon meringue and bright rosemary and thyme herbal notes. There’s no rosemary and thyme in here, so don’t be fooled. But this is the kind of flavor character that this juniper seems to take on with the addition of the botanicals. Still a bit sharp, I in fact can feel hints of burn in the back of my mouth long after the initial taste and the juniper lingers on the palette, first vibrant and citrusy, then fading to sour and flat, to bitter and just the taste of alcohol. Really, really interesting gin here.

Cocktails

I could recommend this, again, for fans of classic juniper forward gin, but think that it probably lacks the smoothness to make it ideal for martinis. But don’t be shy, Negronis, 20th Century, Leap Years, French 75’s and so on, the juniper in here can stand up and stand out.

Overall Arezzo, Italy with Botanicals

Again, What a difference provenance makes. So different from the previous ones, Arezzo’s juniper tastes most similar to my “expectation” of what a juniper only gin could taste like. Sure, the juniper alone one could use some balancing, but I think the “with botanicals” mix rights the wrong and makes a pretty solid gin. Certainly not for everyone, again it is interesting how a similar botanical mix can call to mind flavors of ingredients that aren’t even on the official botanical list. And that my friends, is the beauty of juniper.

 

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