Flavor Profile
On July 17th, 1947 the following events occurred:
- A passenger ship sank off the coast of Mumbai India.
- 6’11” Serbian Center Žarko Knežević was born.
- The Philadelphia Athletics Pummeled the St. Louis Browns 16-2 led by 5 runs from Barney McCoskey.
- The Recipe for Pickering’s Gin was written
….and it was held secret for 66 years until Pickering’s Gin was launched in 2013. Juniper + 8 other botanicals, including coriander, cardamom, angelica, fennel, anise, lemon, lime and cloves.
Tasting Notes
On December 31st, 2014 I tasted Pickering’s Gin and the following things occurred:
- The nose has a slight emphasis on coriander.
- also Herbaceous Juniper, and a slight touch of citrus on the edges.
- The palate begins with fresh pine forest and lemon zest.
- Juniper is really the most striking thing about the palate.
- There’s a lot of depth and complexity in the background notes
- These notes include hints of violet, lemon, black peppercorn and fennel.
- The finish is dry, with still plenty of juniper.
- The residual notes of the palate include fennel seed and clover oil.
…and I thought Pickering’s Gin was quite an exquisite classic style gin. Really good on its own, but also with great promise for mixing. For gins which I don’t have a full bottle of, I have a hard time awarding it full marks. But given the sample I tried, this could well be a five star gin. Really fantastic stuff.
Overall, Pickering’s Gin
When I have a full bottle, I’m going to take a closer look at Pickering’s Gin. But this is really great stuff, as close as you can come to getting full marks without getting it. I just can’t without trying it in several drinks to make sure. But I don’t hesitate to recommend Pickering’s Gin strongly based on what I did have. Really beautiful stuff.
Awards
Recently toured and tasted at the distillery in Edinburgh and brought a bottle home. I didn’t find the juniper as prominent as you in sampling neat at the distillery but otherwise agree with your tasting notes. In a cocktail, so far I have had this only in a G&T with Fever Tree tonic and it is outstanding. This gin is pricey but exceptional.
This is an extremely smooth, well balanced and clean gin. I found less citrus than indicated in the above profile. It worked very well in a G&T with both Fever Tree and Q tonics. I was even more pleased with it stirred and served cold and neat and in a second glass with a small slice of lime. I drinks to it’s price point and above. Definitely a prestige offering.
Waiting on the full review.