The name “65 Miles Gin” sounds like the classic joke, “when I was young I walked to school 15 miles in the snow!” Well, except that this story is true— it’s dedicated to Granddad Jack who had to bike 65 miles to work. An example of dedication that the distillers followed through the 28 iterations it took to come up with the botanical bill for 65 Miles Gin.
Tasting notes
Aroma: Powerfully aromatic, with cloves and sweet cardamom dominant.
Flavor: Cinnamon bark takes over on the palate. Immediately front and present, the bouquet of baking spices sing throughout. Slightly reminiscent of “apple pie” spice blend, the spices come together quite nicely. Early cinnamon and clove studded oranges. Late hints of sweet star anise.
Finish: While quite warm, because it is 57% ABV— it’s less warm than other Navy Strength Gins. It’s one of the few that I don’t find overbearing on its own.
Sipped, it’s pleasant and warm with moderate heat and little astringency.
Cocktails
65 Miles Gin is a spice-forward gin, and bartenders when making cocktails with it should keep that in mind. I’d lean away from drinks like the gin and lemonade or gin and soda. I’d lean into the gin and cola and cocktails like the Negroni, Hot Toddy or Martinez where the spice notes can really sing.
Overall, 65 Miles Gin
65 Miles Gin is bold, memorable, and distinctive. But it’s also very light– very, very light on juniper. It might strike some as a spiced vodka, which is honestly the only thing I can hold against it. It’s gorgeous for what it does, but it straddles that narrow line of “how much juniper does something need to be a gin.”