Flavor Profile
Dancing Pines Gin distinguishes itself with a refreshingly narrow list of 6 botanicals.
Tasting Notes
A nice bright nose, juniper and lemon along with a tinge of sweet but pronounced alcohol. The lemon borders on super sweet towards the end of the nose [although still very subtle], almost going in an Uncle Val’s sort of direction. Very bright, and aromatic. Interesting balance, not quite sure if the nose belies a contemporary or classic style gin.
I quite like the flavor of Dancing Pines Gin and think it’s doing a lot of interesting things, and getting quite a lot of mileage from only a few botanicals.
Cocktails
I think it makes a really nice gin and tonic. Refreshing and some slightly less conventional notes come to the fore. Particularly the anise/fennel seed notes I picked up on neat come through in a slightly more anise forward direction.
I perhaps was a little bolder with my martini than I should have been. Opting for a slightly less conventional [but personally preferred] 3:1 gin:vermouth ratio I think I washed out a bit of the flavor a lot. The Vermouth was somewhat overpowering, though I did pick up on the spicy herbal notes on the finish. I could see this gin excelling because of its smoothness and flavor profile, although I’d suggest keeping it on the stronger side at 7:1 and adding a twist rather than anything more flavorful.
We had quite a nice Negroni with Dancing Pines Gin, a bit of the juniper and that bright anise and fennel character shined through. Nicely balanced, and a stellar example of this drink. Despite it’s 40% character, it is able to present its flavors in the Negroni. Nice drink, nice balance, and a highly recommended cocktail.
Overall, Dancing Pines Gin
Simple but never boring. It’s probably not for everyone as in the past I’ve noticed that anise and fennel notes can be somewhat divisive, there’s still a nice rounded character with juniper and citrus to appeal to the classic style gin drinker.