Collective Arts Pink Gin & Soda with Raspberry & Bitter Orange is a ready-to-drink canned cocktail that is somewhat difficult to classify. It has traits that are common in gin and soda; traits that are common in gin and lemonade— and things that you’d expect in neither. It truly is its own thing. Which in a crowded canned cocktail market full of standards, this is a good thing. Also, it’s a fun thing.
It’s base is Collective Arts Brewing’s Rhubarb and Hibiscus Gin. It is then paired with raspberry and bitter orange for added flavor. The drink is sparkling, and canned at a modest 5% ABV.
Tasting Notes
Color: Carnation pink.
Aroma: Tart, sour raspberry with some hints of rhubarb.
Flavor: Floral and berry packed throughout. Pleasant, tight bubble effervescence. It has good lasting power, even adding some texture on the back of the palate.
Early, tart berry comes through. Lemon kissed strawberries, sour raspberry jam and a hint of acai. A slight sour character pervades throughout, lending it a nice literal citrus quality. Rhubarb comes through very clearly late.
The sourness of slightly sweetened, stewed fresh rhubarb dominates the finish.
If you saw the name “Pink Gin” and were expecting something bitter (a la the cocktail), that’s not the kind of Pink Gin that is happening here. It is more in line with the trend for berry/fruit forward pink gins.
Overall, Collective Arts Pink Gin and Soda
While a bit unusual among canned cocktails, Collective Arts Pink Gin and Soda stands out for what it does well. Fresh, bright, sweet and flavorful— it will have appeal for those looking for something brighter among canned cocktails. It is exceptionally sweet. The flavor is beautiful, though I must admit— it’s quite light on juniper and gin character. It’s more about the rhubarb than it is anything else.
Is that a bad thing on its own? No. Collective Arts Pink Gin and Soda is a delicious cocktail in its own right.
But is it gin? Or should it be called gin? I’d love to see a bit more juniper flavor coming through here.
The combination of lower ABV (not a bad thing— it is crushable for sure) and using an already strongly flavored gin as its base, combine to make a good drink that I think most drinkers would have a hard time placing as a gin drink.