Firstly you might be wondering— what is a Painted Lady (oh yes, capitalization intentional). In Astoria, Oregon, it references vividly painted Victorian homes on the city’s riverfront.
Painted Lady Gin is colorful in its tasting notes— more on that in a moment— but conceptually it was designed by founder Lawrence Cary to “[be] a gin that even gin-haters love.“
Tasting notes
Aroma: (!) Vivid and intensely perfumed with heady rose hips and lavender. But also, some lemon, juniper and coriander. It seems that while the florals leap from the bottle on initial pour, as it aerates, the aroma transforms showcasing a rich complexity.
Flavor: Jammy, with some robust sweet rose hips suggesting currants and raspberry. Behind that, camphor and lavender step to the fore, backed by a some punchy, almost herbal juniper and coriander.
Towards the end hints of stone fruit and berry punch come in at a low volume. Sage and lavender occupy space as a low volume punch juniper hangs on.
Painted Lady Gin has a long and evolving flavor palate.
Finish: Cooling with a touch of sage and moderate, but pleasant warmth. There’s a camphor glow here that is quite nice. Very much a summer evening of a gin.
Cocktails and suggested serves
In our home bar, we created a Mayfair Variation cocktail with it. It was quite nice how the rose hips and lavender added a light note that sat on top of the allspice dram and apricot brandy in the drink. This is a great example of how the botanicals in a gin can brighten a cocktail, even one with a lot of bold ingredients.
Martini fans may be divided. If you like aggressive floral gins and complex flavors, you’ll enjoy Painted Lady Gin. Though for me the gin itself is so complex, you might want to skimp on the vermouth
Otherwise behind the bar, bartenders would be best advise to build around Painted Lady Gin. It is not a gin that hides easily. It will rise to the occasion in an Arsenic and Old Lace or White Lady. But depending on your tastes, it might feel discordant in a Negroni or Gin and Flavored Tonic.
Overall, Painted Lady Gin
Bright and brilliantly floral, Painted Lady Gin is complex, but quite balanced. Fans of floral/herbal flavor profiles will find a lot to like here about this summery perfumed gin.
While the juniper is present— some will find it a bit too boldly contemporary. Painted Lady Gin tastes nothing like any gin on the market a generation ago.
Pilot House Distilling has done a great job taking a concept and executing it to one of its best versions of itself. While it’s not a gin for everyone, it’s a fun floral-forward gin that I think true to its founder’s intentions, may still win over non-gin fans.
Recommended in its category,