Flavor Profile
We’ve previously tried Blackwater No 5. Gin, but this Batch 1— No, Blackwater Batch 1— is part of That Boutique-y Gin Company’s introductory batch of experiments, trials, and other found gins, brought to life through the love and work of Master of Malt and Gin innovators like David T. Smith.
There once was a distillery in West Waterford!
Who distilled several gins, so we heard!
If you’re looking to visit, here’s the finder—
The only thing automated is the grinder—
….for coffee! To suggest anything else would be absurd!
That may be the first. And last Limerick we write here*. Also, the folks at Blackwater Distillery [not to be confused with the Maryland distillery of the same name] are a full 100 km from Limerick, Ireland.
The inspiration for Blackwater Batch 1 is herbs which may have been in a Monastic garden when distilling was first brought to Europe in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. You can read more about early distilling in my book. But alas, back to the gin:
Tasting Notes
The nose has pine-forward juniper, lemon peel, rose and pine blossom. Noticeable terpenic and quite classic. Clean, polished and very pleasant.
The palate takes almost an immediate right turn though, veering directly into the fresh, green, and slightly floral notes of a spring meadow. Notes of daisy, iris, bee balm mingle with more classic gin notes with angelica stem, coriander, and juniper building on the back of the palate.
The finish is crisp with a clean juniper and a hint of petrichor. Blackwater Batch 1 has a nice palate which integrates the olfactory pleasures of a wildflower field with the traditional gin palate. The result is slightly contemporary and refreshingly complex. I really enjoy how so many of the gins in That Boutique-y Gin Company’s initial batch play with the floral side of the contemporary gin spectrum.
Cocktails
The crispness and juniper accents mean that Blackwater Batch 1 works well in a Gin and Tonic and Gin and Soda. It’s an easy mixing gin that works well and still showcases its unique accents.
However, where it really shines for me is in cocktails. It makes a good Martini, and the gentle floral complexity seems made whole once again when combined with the leafy, green and bitter notes from a Vermouth like Dolin or Vya.
Overall
Blackwater Batch 1 is among the more traditional and easily recognizable gins in That Boutique-y Gin Company’s first batch. Though still a bit contemporary owing to the floral notes, it’s one of the gins that I think fans of classic style gins will be at most home playing and experimenting with. Fans of modern contemporary style gins with a floral flare will find a lot here to enjoy, though perhaps a bit more subtle than others playing in the same space right now.
* If the gins in That Boutique-y Gin Company’s initial batch are experiments and one-offs, please permit me this one-off experiment as well.
Awards
