Nils Oscar Tärnö Gin

Flavor Profile

Nils Oscar Tärnö Gin was first produced in 1999, but is now out of production. The company chose to focus on beer over spirits production and today only make beer.

That being said, when they were making spirits, Nils Oscar Tärnö Gin was a solid and reasonably priced option.

Tasting Notes

The nose has a floral and fruity hint, with just a hint of juniper.

The taste of Nils Oscar Tärnö Gin is a bit fruity, but with plenty of juniper. There’s a bit of citrus that hits you at first before making way for a earthy juniper punch. A bit of heat hits you, but quickly parts leaving the palette with a fresh juniper finish. Hints of a sweet fruitiness linger long after the sip. The fruity notes to me had a slight strawberry character.

The overall character of Nils Oscar Tärnö Gin  was rather nicely balanced. While its profile seems to fit the contemporary style, it has one foot squarely in the classic camp. There’s a characteristic dryness and warmth to the juniper here that at times hints at London Dry, but it has enough unique fruity notes to differentiate itself. Although this is only a small sample, I’m excited to try more. This gin seems to have a good deal of promise.

I would have no qualms recommending it for a gin and tonic. It might even make a good “gateway gin” for those are moving up to London Dry [a stepping stone between perhaps G’vine Floraison and Beefeater?]. I enjoy the way it adds the berry note* without having to go completely contemporary.

Overall, Nils Oscar Tärnö Gin

I would love to have a bottle of this to put to a through test in my home bar. In the meantime, if you see a bottle, I wholeheartedly recommend checking it out.

International Gin Exchange 2012 >>>

Thanks to David over at Summer Fruit Cup for helping  make this tasting possible. Because the bottles are small sample bottles, this review is not as thorough as my normal gin reviews. There’s only enough for some tasting neat and no more than one normal-sized cocktail. Although I do my best to give as full of a review as possible, complete with ratings, the tasting is not as complete as I would normally want to do.

*By the way, although the parallel my taste buds immediately seized upon was Strawberry, the actual botanical is Elderberry— a fruit which I don’t have much experience with on its own, so perhaps I lacked the experience to readily identify it.