Flavor Profile
The Liverpool Gin Distillery creates all of their gins with certified organic botanicals. Liverpool Valencian Orange is one among several “signature botanical” gins in their product line.
However, there’s a bit of a romantic story behind this one. Head Distiller John O’Dowd created this gin as a celebration of his son’s wedding. The woman he wed was born in Valencia, Spain. Hence, the signature botanical choice.
The gin begins as Liverpool’s flagship gin botanical bill, with the addition of Valencia Oranges.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Predominantly orange on the nose. Moderate intensity, sweet orange with hints of bitter orange. Juniper and coriander are present but secondary.
Flavor: Loud sweet orange notes early and through mid-palate. It’s large and juicy, suggestive of a morning orange juice. Green juniper becomes a bit pinier as it sits on the palate. Spices, coriander with hints of cubeb and pepper come on late.
Finish: Warm finish with chiefly spice and bitter orange facets. Moderate astringency with pleasant dryness.
Cocktails
Liverpool Valencian Orange Gin is well suited for mixing. In a gin and tonic it is a lovely pair to a crisp, gently sweet tonic water. I recommend garnishing with lemon. Even mixed with bolder ingredients like cola (gin and cola) or other juices (greyhound), the sweet orange notes shine, with a hint of juniper and spice.
Overall, Liverpool Valencian Orange
Bold and true to its name, Liverpool Valencian Orange sings with orange and citrus. However, at times where it comes up short for me is that the orange takes on an almost orange juice from concentrate sort of flavor. Secondly, the balance feels off across the palate. The orange doesn’t feel integrated, it’s as if it sits on top of— and overpowers the rest of the gin.
Classic gin fans will appreciate that the juniper isn’t totally obscured; however, Liverpool Valencian Orange Gin is a purely contemporary, citrus-forward gin.
While it will work well enough in some mixed cocktails, given the bevy of excellent contemporary citrus forward gins— it feels a bit of a letdown.