Glorious Gin

Flavor Profile

I first reviewed Glorious Gin in 2010. Since then, Brad Estabrooke’s creation has moved from the boroughs of NYC to around the world. It’s a beautiful success story that you can get their gin on at least 3 continents.

But I think what’s most striking to me is how the gin has really come into its own. It’s a reliable, steady, and though not as unique today as it was 6+ years ago it’s still as good as it was. But just because others have worked with the same colors that Glorious Gin does, should not take away from the fact that Glorious Gin is still a well crafted expression of those ingredients.

First, some details: each of the botanicals are distilled separately before being blended together. Their relatively concise botanical bill: ginger, rosemary, grapefruit, lemon, and juniper. Each botanical is given space to shine on the wheat base that is also made at their Brooklyn distillery.

Tasting Notes

Rosemary, pine and citrus burst forth on the nose, with this rich, complex, and slightly grain tinged aroma that gives the spirit a certain gravity and umph. It smells rich and aromatic with a bold invitation to take a sip.

The palate I think is clear and unique, with plenty of space for you to pick out elements of each. Juniper is at the fore, with the green, oily, pine/herbal notes of rosemary amplifying it just slightly. Citrus is really clear and obvious in the middle and the finish has dots of ginger and specks of warmth which really round out the overall profile. The spirit is thick and rich, leading to a long finish which conveys menthol tinged herbs and bitter citrus zest.

Cocktails

It’s still good. While the Gin Wife raves about the rich Gin and Tonics it makes, I really like the way it works in drinks like the Negroni and Martini. Classics work well here, even though the overall gin doesn’t read classic at all. Glorious Gin reads as a forebearer to a lot of the craft gins we taste today. Unabashedly contemporary, it’s been riding it’s unique take on gin for nearly six years, and has established itself as one of the new names in gin. And frankly, we think it’s well deserved. We didn’t award medals when we reviewed it, but we’re happy to award it the silver that we think it rightly deserves as an exceptional, and well worth your time contemporary gin.

Overall

Giving space for each of the five botanicals to show their stuff, you would be forgiven for being mistaking that there was more to it. Bright spice, creamy citrus, rich mouthfeel, piquant juniper. Glorious Gin’s ascendance to the new classic status is well deserved. Fans of contemporary style gin will find a lot to like here with the citrus, in particular the grapefruit, and the herbal touch of rosemary. It’s perhaps even better today than it was over five years ago, and it’s worth checking out no matter what your gin tastes

Awards