Flavor Profile
Oliver Twist Gin has only four botanicals: Coriander, Juniper, Angelica and Savory. An exercise in concise botanical exploration. They eschew several staples of traditional gin distilling like orris root, citrus or cassia and instead round out their base with the somewhat rare Savory.
Oliver Twist Gin is distilled in London. This was even more unusual at the time of its release back in 2012.
Tasting Notes
Its a bit deceptive when you consider that there’s only four botanicals in here. As I detect notes of sweetness on both the nose and palette that call to mind citrus. Hints or orange and a lemony freshness. There’s a nice burst of juniper and coriander but a fresh floral finish that accompanies the closing burst of heat. Its rather drinkable and pleasant. I could recommend without reservation drinking Oliver Twist Gin straight.
Cocktails
Though I only has a small sample Oliver Twist Gin seems to lend itself readily to cocktails. In fact in many cases the spirit was elevated by the presence of other notes like acidity and bitterness; especially given the sparse botanical bill.
David recommended the “Gin and Jam” which I have to say— was quite nice with Oliver Twist. Marmalade was just the balance of acidity and sweet that this gin demanded.
Overall, Oliver Twist Gin
Oliver Twist Gin is a simple, but pretty solid gin. Worth taking a look at if you’re in the mood for an easy drinking classic style gin.
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.