Flavor Profile
My good friend and buddy David T. Smith recently hooked me up with a few minis/samples from his extensive collection when I was in London last month. One of those gaps in my gin notes was the Beefeater London Market variation, released right around the time Beefeater Winter and Beefeater Summer.
I realize this gin is probably quite difficult to find, as it was a limited edition, and it came out a couple of years ago. Sorry for being a few years late to the party.
Beefeater London Market is part of a series of gins put out by Beefeater just as the gin renaissance was exploding. London Market adds Cardamom, Pomegranate Seeds, Kaffir/Makrut Lime leaves to the standard beefeater set of botanicals.
Released in 2011 in European markets, it is no longer being produced or widely available.
Tasting Notes
Beefeater London Market has a little bit of a floral lilt in the high notes, with lime coming through clearly, then lemon and orange, with a tinge of citric acid. Strong nose that ends on a more classic note.
Taste-wise, Beefeater London Market is tart and citrus dominated, with a lemon/lime zest sharpness, likely given a sharper character by the addition of pomegranate which seems to fade into the background. Juniper with the pine note emphasized is the focus of the mids, with a finish the sits somewhere near traditional Beefeater, with licorice, and angelica contributing some warmth and earthiness.
Overall, Beefeater London Market
Though out of production, London Market was an interesting edition to the Beefeater line. While good, it relied more on the Beefeater name than a serious innovation on the gin flavor. Then again, that’s much easier to say in 2015 than it might have been had I had this in 2011 when it came out. Too bad it was a limited edition because I think this gin with the Beefeater name behind it, could be a very successful. I mean gins like Tanqueray Malacca have come back from the dead, so why not Beefeatr London Market?