Flavor Profile
Spain has a reputation for pushing the envelope with their gins. That doesn’t make them a style unto themselves (despite frequent efforts to try and force an entire national identity about gins crafted in a place), but it does mean that you can expect to find a few surprise in place. The inclusion of plums (outside of Sloe Gins) is a rarity, while Gorse might be slightly more common, but still a surprise to find the flowers of an evergreen shrub that has been declared an invasive species everywhere but its native range in Western Europe, in your Ginabelle Gin.
Eat The Invaders anyone? Drink them? Invasivores? Maybe in the US or Australia, but not in Spain…
How how about the gin?
Tasting Notes
Wow, really out there nose. Green flowers, vegetable stalks, lemon, pine boughs, and a hint of dry Vermouth as well. The palate is soft, initially, with heat building towards the finish. Coriander, menthol, and a fair amount a note that tastes of fortified white wine. There’s a bit of something juniperous (again, making up words) in the background, with a slightly spruce-like green flavor, but it just seems to come across as a touch more menthol-laced, but without the brightness of mint of eucalyptus.
The finish of Ginabelle Gin is hot and a touch acidic, with lemon and wine notes enduring.
Kate’s Tasting Notes (a.k.a The Gin Wife)
“Lovely floral (?) nose,” “smells like that gin I really like, that G’vine…” “I mean I like it…it’s not very juniper forward… pepperiness, refreshing in a very floral way.” “I would drink it straight if someone gave it to me.”
Overall
Unabashedly lacking in juniper (there’s a hint of it, really), its showing the creative ranges that the style can have when it pushes against your expectations. As we see more gins add wine, we have to begin to wonder if there’s an unexpected style emerging here that combines the best aspects of a gentle martini right in the gin bottle before it even gets to your glass.
Classic gin fans won’t find anything here that will appeal to them, nor likely to change their mind. Fans of contemporary gins, especially floral forward gin, and who like Martinis will probably find Ginabelle Gin to be an ideal addition to their liquor cabinet.
Awards
Dear Kate & Aaron,
This Gin is so contemporary it has taken a walk off of the beaten path and got lost in a Mirabelle plum orchard. Finding it likes it there, it has sat down under the cool shade of the canopy on a hot summer’s day to enjoy a picnic with a slice or two of lemon tart and a bottle of albariño wine.
Although I try never to be too far from a good old classic London Dry, it’s exciting to enjoy Gins that push the boundaries of what we know, just like this one.
Regards, David.