This past year, I took a close look at the over 300 gin reviews we’ve written for The Gin Is In. Since 2012, we’ve reviewed over 300 gins using our Pentagon “rating” system, wherein we try to describe complex flavor patterns in simple, accessible ways so that you, the reader, can find gins which match your specific palates.
But especially during the last year or so, I’ve realized that the dimensions I chose in 2012 don’t full reflect the vocabulary needed to describe the gins that are coming out today. Let’s take for example two gins that we reviewed recently:
Gin Mare has a beautiful, expressive palate ride with hints of olive, thyme, and rosemary. Then you have Euphrosine #9, which has a delightful, and straight forward note of bay laurel. You’re probably able to see where I’m going with this, but “spicy,” doesn’t capture the difference between the piquant pop of black pepper and the green, aromatic, and fresh garden smell of thyme. The latter isn’t spicy, it’s herbal. And given the large amount of gins which are wearing their herbal side on their sleeves, we thought it was time to add a new category to our pentagon. We now will be rating each gin on six dimensions: the five that we started with some years ago (Juniper, citrus, floral, spicy and heat), along with Herbal. 
Historic Reviews
But of course, with the vast archive of reviews we have available, it’s not possible for us to go back and taste each gin with the new criteria. So for some time you may see some reviews like the one posted at right. There won’t be an Herbal score for that gin.
Over the course of the next year, we’ll be looking to re-review and update some of our earliest reviews (and update the pentagon/hexagon) scores; however, please bear with us as some of those gins have become hard to get in the last nearly 7+ years of gin tasting. Some may never be able to be updated, but that’s okay. Going forward all gins will be scored on all six categories, and hopefully, for those of you who asked us to make the change, you can now find the gins that match your personal taste.
If you’re interested in more of how this began, check out our original post on our philosophy.
We’re always growing and looking to get better. Stay tuned, and cheers!
I’ve quickly become a fan. Thanks for all you do to spread the enjoyment of gin! Not sure how you are about such things, but I’m making a request for a review of Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin. Thanks again!