Flavor Profile
One of a quite small (but growing!) number of gins built on cane spirit, this cane base is 100% Florida grown and has won awards on its own merits. The gin is an equally Florida inspired take, with citrus figuring prominently on the bottle and on the gin as well. Part of their “old world” allure is the intentional anachronism of hand-grinding the botanicals (check out their promo video here) for inclusion in their St. Augustine New World Gin.
Tasting Notes
The citrus aroma seems to be more in the Seville Orange camp, but it blends nicely with juniper which is clearly detectable as well. Angelica, lemon, and cinnamon notes emerging as well. It’s pleasantly citrus-forward and nicely balanced on the nose.
The palate is amped up a bit, with citrus at first, reading as more Mandarin this time. Pine-accented juniper comes through as well, with a wet, dewy freshness that comes off as slightly spruce bud. After that, the bitter orange from the nose returns in good measure. The finish is medium long with pleasant hints of baking spice as well.
Cocktails
First, in the Bronx Cocktail— it seemed that it was a drink to be dominated by the Orange and the Vermouth. St Augustine New World Gin was most present on the finish where some spice notes come through: cassia, then angelica and pine. Nice, but there wasn’t much here to suggest that stacking orange with more orange really resulted in a big pay-off.
In the Gin and Tonic with Jack Rudy’s Tonic Syrup, we had some citrus and ginger notes at the fore, with a bit further back, celery and juniper leading through a pleasant, clean, and somewhat dry citrus-laden finish. Quite nice.
The Martini in my opinion was where St. Augustine New World Gin really shone through. Complex citrus and herbal nose, with orange and chamomile. Very welcoming, the palate was clean and crisp with the herbal Vermouth providing a counterpoint to the citrus-forward notes of the gin. It was a lovely balance, with juniper coming through as well. This was my favorite cocktail of the bunch, and a serious contender for one of the best Martinis I’ve had this year. Recommended.
Finally, we tried a St. Augustine New World Gin Alexander. We don’t do this often around here, but something about this gin mixed with a bit of chocolate and cream that sounded like a good pairing. It delivered. In short, nutmeg and cinnamon on the nose, with the palate calling to mind all the best parts of biting into (er, I mean drinking) orange flavored chocolate. Creamy, rich mouthfeel with baking spice notes coming through on the finish. This gin isn’t all citrus to the detriment of other flavors; however, here the citrus really does elevate the gin to star status.
Overall
Citrus-forward but nicely balanced. In this case, “forward” isn’t another way of saying that’s all you taste here. Juniper is present, along with some other familiar gin botanicals, to create a gin that is equal parts classic and contemporary at the same time. The perspective is slanted towards the citrus, but there’s enough here that fans of both styles will find something to like in St. Augustine New World Gin.
Awards
