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| Hard work lies ahead... |
The realm of luxury spirits has reached far beyond that of cognac. Long has the term "Premium" been throw around as carelessly as the label "Martin". With expensive frosted bottles of vodka filled gems and gold flake lettering cascading over shelf space, it is no surprise that this virus as spread into nearly every spirit market today. Cachaca, Tequila and Gin can now all be found baring the title "Premium". But what is premium, and what is just marketing smoke and mirrors? Even after putting your money down and popping the cork on that fresh bottle of bourbon how do you see past preconceived thoughts of that old saying "you get what you pay for"?
With a home bar rivaling the selection of many establishments here in Victoria I asked my self, why do I have 12 bottles of gin? Isn't that a bit excessive? With the limited selection of spirits in British Columbia when ever a new spirit (mainly whisky and gin) becomes available I do some quick research, ask some local bartender's opinions and make my purchase. With gin being one of the only spirits that is truly meant for mixing I never sit down and enjoy a glass of gin neat. To determined what is really worth the money and what is just gin in vodka's clothing I have prepare a blind taste test.
Separated into three categories, Standard (Under $31), premium ($31- $49) and super premium ($50 and over) I have divided the 12 gins into three heats. Each heat consisting of four various grades of gins. I will select one gin from each heat as my favorite. Then, the final three gins will be compared to find an over all favorite. This process will be repeated twice more with the overall winner from the previous tasting being removed for the proceeding tastings. This will help me decide which gins are worth continuing to purchase. But as stated above, I never drink gin unadulterated so it would not do justice to simple judge a gin strictly on it's characteristics neat. The exact same process will be repeated with the 12 gins being employed in a classic dry martini. Four parts gin, one part dry vermouth, one dash of orange bitters and garnished with a lemon zest.
This blind tasting will not be to determine the "best" gin, only my favorite. This is only one person's opinion. If you do not agree with my opinion please leave your comment below and I will be sure to review it. The gins I have chosen are as followed
Standard Gins
Beefeater
ABV: 40%
Price: $24
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Lemon Peel, Seville Orange Peel, Liquorice, Almond, Angelica Root, Angelica Seed, Orris Root
Country of Origin: England
Established: 1820
Tanqueray
ABV: 40%
Price: $14
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Angelica Root
Country of Origin: England
Established: 1830
Bombay Sapphire
ABV: 40%
Price: $14
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Lemon Peel, Coriander Seed, Angelica Root, Orris Root, Grains of Paradise, Cubeb Berries, Cassis Bark, Almonds, Liquorice
Country of Origin: England
Established: 1987
Plymouth
ABV: 41.2%
Price: $30
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Angelica Root, Orris Root, Cardamom, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel
Country of Origin: England
Established: 1793
Premium
Beefeater 24
ABV: 45%
Price: $40 ( Recent Price Drop to $30)
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Japanese Sencha Tea, Chinese Green Tea, Seville Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Grapefruit Peel, Coriander, Liquorice, Angelica Root, Bitter Almond, Angelica Seed, Orris Root
Country of Origin: England
Established: 1820
Tanqueray No.10
ABV: 47.3%
Price: $43
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Whole Grapefruit, Whole Lime, Whole Orange, Chamomile
Country of Origin: England
Established: 1830
Spirit Bear
ABV: 40%
Price: $45
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Ginger Root, Lemon Peel, Orange Peel, Hop Flowers, Lavender, Okanagan Apples, Cinnamon, Angelica Root
Country of Origin: Canada
Established: 2011
Hendricks
ABV: 44%
Price $43
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Caraway, Angelica Root, Orris Root, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Cucumber, Rose Pedal, Chamomile, Elderflower, Meadowsweet
Country of Origin: Scotland
Established: 1999
Super-Premium
Victoria Gin
ABV: 45%
Price: $50
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Rose Pedal, Coriander Seed, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Angelica Root, Star Anise, Orris Root, Cinnamon Bark
Country of Origin: Canada
Established: 2008
Martin Millers
ABV: 40%
Price: $50 (Recent Price Drop to $45)
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Cassia Bark, Liquorice Root, Coriander Seed, Angelica Root, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Nutmeg, cucumber
Country of Origin: England/Iceland
Established: 1999
Addition Notes: Distilled in England then shipped to Iceland to be water down to bottling strength
The Botanist
ABV: 46%
Price: $55
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Orris Root, Cassia Bark, Angelica Root, Cinnamon Bark, Lemon Peel, Orange Peel, Liquorice, White Birch, Chamomile, Creeping Thistle, Lady's Bedstraw, Elderberry, Gorse, Common Heater, Hawthorn Flowers, Lemon Balm, Meadowsweet, Foxtail Mint, Peppermint, Water Mint, Common Wormwood, Grande Wormwood, Red Clover, White Clover, Sweet Cicely, Bog Myrtle, Tansy, Common Thyme, Wood Sage
Country of Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Established: 2011
Additional Notes: Distilled at the Bruichladdich Distillery
G' Vine Floraison
ABV: 40%
Price: $75
Known Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Cubeb Berries, Ginger Root, Liquorice, Green Cardamome, Cassia Bark, Green Grape Flowers
Country of Origin: France (Cognac)
Established: 2006
Addition Notes: Base alcohol distilled from ugni blanc Grapes
* Note all prices are in canadian dollars per 700/750ml bottle and reflect the price paid at time of purchase. Also this is British Columbia, our liquor prices are ridiculously high and therefore do not reflect the prices of your local liquor stores.
Before going into the tasting I had no perceived ideal gin. It was simply a matter of do I like it or not. I've been waiting to due a blind tasting for sometime now. Once I decided nearly two months ago that it would be gin I outright stopped drinking gin until the tasting. This way I would have no recollection of the flavor profile of any gin. The only one characteristic that every gin must have is a noticeably present juniper note. For me, it does not matter now prominate this juniper note is. Once again, it only matters If I like it and would I continue purchasing the gin.
After seven days and 28.5 ounces of gin later (half ounce pours) I came to the conclusion of my favorite gins, both neat and in the Dry Martini.
Best Gin: Neat
3rd Place
Tanqueray No. 10
From the first time I ever had Tanqueray No. 10 in a dry martini with grapefruit bitters and a grapefruit zest I from then on proclaimed Tanq 10 as my favorite gin. It's strong citric integrity and smooth finish places Tanqueray comfortably in 3rd place in the "Neat" category.
2nd Place
G'Vine Floraison
I was first introduced to G'vine through Art of The Cocktail here in Victoria last October. I had be aware of G'vine for approximately six months prior to the festival. Multiple magazine articles and internet buzz made this gin a high priority. Even after trying to bribe the brand rep I still could not get my hands on a bottle. The dry martini made courtesy of Philip Duff on the closing day of the festival would have to tie me over until I finally found a bottle for sale on New Years Eve. It was more then worth the wait. Being distilled from ugni blanc grapes is more then any kind of marketing gimmick for G'vine. There is a clear grape and white wine taste to this gin. With Citrus, juniper and liquorice in the forefront of this gin, it hold the fort of 2nd place.
1st Place
Martin Miller's
Wow. That is all there is to say about this gin. upon the first inhale of this gin a clear cucumber, dragon fruit, juniper and citrus peel nose unravels. Martin Miller's Gin is a true avant grade gin. It is unlike any of this competitors. While the juniper is subtle, it is still clearly a gin. Tasted neat there is almost a slight cola taste buried amongst the cucumber (remember, this is no actual cucumber in the gin.), citrus, juniper and christmas spice. The easiest way to describe to someone what Martin Miller's tastes like is by saying "it tastes like what Hendrick's should taste like". Martin Miller's is among three gins selection -including spirit bear, plymouth and Botanist- that I have never had prior to this tasting. My only complaint about Martin Miller's is that the damn bottle leaks when turned upside down with the cap on! Fortunately an easy fix compared to some problems encountered with other gins in this tasting.
Next, the Martini tasting. One can only take so much room temperature gin.
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| Four Teeny-Weeny Martinis |
Best Gin: Dry Martini
3rd Place
G'Vine Floraison
2nd Place
Tanqueray No. 10
1st Place
Martin Miller's
As you can see there was nearly no change in the placement, which for me was somewhat disappointing. For I was hoping that three gins that crashed and burned in the neat tasting would fair better in the martini tasting. The following gin I would not purchase again, The Botanist, Plymouth and Beefeater 24. All of which suffered from an imbalance of flavors and a scorching alcoholic burn.
It came as a great surprise to see these three on the bottle of my list. The Botanist comes from one of -if not the most- creative single malt producer in the world. A proud owner of three bottlings of Bruichladdich it was very dismaying to have such a product come from the same distillery as their award winning whiskies.
Plymouth is no doubt a legend of gins. With so many bartenders swearing by plymouth as the only gin for a dry martini, what am I missing?
When people would ask me for suggestions of great high end gins to purchase Beefeater 24 would have been one of three to be first named. I was in a slight state of disbelief to hear that the gin that I had been recommending to so many was the same gin in the taste test that I could not finish to due a burn that rivaled that of nail polish.
Although a lemon zest and orange bitters may not be the best accessories for every gin I do believe it was a fair way to standardize the martini for the purpose of this blind tasting. I will try to persevere and continue to experiment with different cocktails for those gins that were initial disappointments. For if I had given up hope on spirits due to a bad first impression I would not be such a fan of islay whisky today (a story for another blog post).
Before I wrap things up I'd like to give recognition to two more gins in the tasting.
Best Bargain
Beefeater
It's hard to believe that two gins from the same company can produce two totally different spirits. It is even harder to believe that the cheaper of two is a more enjoyable gin. As you can tell by the level of liquid in the bottle Beefeater has been a favorite of mind for a while. There is a outstanding balance of juniper and liquorice with a slight citrus note in the background. Placing 4th in both neat and martini tasting Beefeater is undoubtably the best gin for the money.
Honorable Mention
Spirit Bear
The newest of the twelve gins is Spirit Bear. Why this gin is worth a second look is it's unique blend of botanicals, which results in a nose and taste as memorable as the three medalist. The most curious botanicals in Spirit Bear include, apples, hop flowers and ginger root. There will always be a place for Spirit Bear in my liquor cabinet (and the fact that a portion of profits go to wildlife is another positive). Thanks to Urban Distillers for answering my email regarding their botanical recipe.
Thanks to all gin distillers that produced some of the awesome gin highlighted in this tasting. Remember, all expenses for this tasting came from my cheque book. I received no funding from any third parties that could otherwise effect the outcome of my thoughts. Also thanks to my reader (the few of you that exist) Remember to follow me on twitter at Spirit_imbibing and retweet when a new blog post goes up. Finally thanks to my lovely girlfriend for helping me set up the tasting, I'm sure I would have cheated If I didn't have a helping hand to pour the gins.
