Drinking The World

Desert Juniper Gin is 41% abv. / 82 proof and like its more powerful sibling, Cascade Mountain Gin, is made by Bend Distillery in Bend, OR. This bottle is micro-distilled, hand bottled and numbered and from Batch # 124.

It has a light gold/yellow color to it and the aroma is that of very light juniper, citrus, and fruit; smelling slightly sweet, sharp, and dry at the same time. Its not as piney and floral as the Cascade Mountain and has a much softer and fuller aroma with some nice notes that are hard to pin down, but there seems to be a slightest hint of cedar going on and as it warms up even a warm touch of hazelnuts. What first started out very mild, develops depth and complexity in the nose.

The taste starts off very light and soft. Then you get a mild fruitiness and sweetness that develops; with just a touch of juniper, fruit and nuts. This is a light and mild gin that is smooth and soft. Tasted next to Cascade Mountain you immediately notice the difference. Desert Juniper is the soft and delicate, dusky younger sister to Cascade Mountain's big, sharp, and bold; mountain man big brother. This is a very nice gin, but on the lighter and more delicate end of the gin spectrum. If using with a mixer I would tend to stick lighter tasting juices like just a dash of grapefruit juice or tonic; and if in a martini, then very dry.

Hendrick's Gin is 44% abv. / 88 proof and is distilled in Scotland. I tasted Hendrick's for the first time around 7-8 years or more ago when I stopped by the New Hampshire state liquor store on my way to vacation in Maine. What attracted my attention was the same thing that everyone else in the world notices about Hendrick's. The squat, very dark brown that it's almost black, apothecary style bottle. That and then I noticed the price. It was on sale ridiculously cheap because it had just made it onto the shelves and was being first introduced. I had heard of it just recently and been wanting to try it and at half the normal price this was a steal. So I bought a bottle and figured that if it was good I could pick up a few more on sale when I headed back to NY, something which I later did.

The aroma is quite big, with a strong hit of juniper, followed closely by its star ingredients out of its various botanicals; cucumber and rose. The sharp, piney scent grabs you first but is quickly mellowed by the sweet, vegetal cucumber bottom notes and floral rose top notes. Then as it warms and opens up you get faint layers of spices coming in to play.

The taste is a medium juniper, again mellowed by the cucumber, and perked up with the rose petals. It is a soft and smooth gin, coating your mouth and tongue in soft, aromatic warmth, feeling sort of like a mouthful of warm, freshly made English custard. The mouth feel is very comforting and that softness of warm custard just jumps into my head. After the first hit of flavors you then get hints of citrus and herbs, and a very mild note of spearmint and rich chocolate and coffee. It has a long finish with semi-sweet layers of flavors following each other through your palate. The end is dry and aromatic and stays with you for several minutes.

Over the years I have had Hendrick's many times because it was one of the more easily available premium gins to locate, and helped start the trend of the new styles of gin. The first year or so they had some inconsistency with the product. Three bottles in a row would be excellent, then the fourth would taste like chemicals and benzene. Those issues were cleared up and they seem to be producing a consistently good product. This is a fine sipping gin, and if used in a martini you should make it very dry.

Poland Spring London Dry Gin is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is prepared and bottled in Maine, just like the water. I saw a big 1.75 liter bottle of this on a store shelf and came to an abrupt halt. Poland Spring Gin? I just had to grab a bottle and try it out. But somehow the unopened bottle got lost over time, in the back of a bottom shelf of my spirits library (I have several six foot high bookshelves loaded with hundreds of bottles of various spirits and liqueurs, next to the even more books in my library/office.) So today I was going through my bottles that are waiting to be reviewed and saw the jug sitting there in hiding. I pulled it out and started to do some research.

I read in an article that Poland Spring water was first bottled back over 150 years ago and was something of a trend setter. Selling bottled water was almost unheard of, and there were very few companies doing so. After Prohibition ended, Lawrence & Co. of Boston made Poland Spring Gin, Sloe Gin, and Whiskey using Poland Spring water and bottled them in decorative bottles called Moses bottles.

Nowadays I don't know if Poland Spring Gin actually uses Poland Spring water or not. There was absolutely no information of any kind on the label. As a matter of fact, in general I could find very little current information, except that it seems that it may be possibly made at the White Rock Distilleries in Lewiston, Maine. Also the word is that many folks out there consider it a step above rubbing alcohol and claim it gives killer hangovers. I have only seen it sold in 1.75 liter jugs, which is a strong indicator that it's a pretty low level gin.

Sortilège Maple Syrup and Whiskey Liqueur is 30% abv. / 60 proof and is made in Montreal, Canada from Canadian whiskey and maple syrup. The color is that of a very light maple syrup.

The aroma is a light but sharp whiskey, with overtones of maple, some dried fruit and spice cake notes, and very light hints of vanilla. It's a unusual aroma that isn't as much maple as I would have thought. As I warmed it up the dried fruit notes opened up and masked all the other scents, which was an improvement since I didn't really care for the aroma that much at first.

The taste is very light and medium sweet with a light, but syrupy body. There isn't much going on with the flavor. It has hints of whiskey under the very mild maple flavor. In the background there is some of that dried fruit and spice cake that I noticed in the aroma. This is a nice, mild liqueur that is different from most, but it doesn't wow me. It's nice to have when you want something different but I wouldn't have it on a regular basis. I would like it a lot more if it just had more of the whiskey and maple action going on.

Seagram's Orange Twisted Gin is 35% abv. / 70 proof, which was launched in 2004, and is made with Seagram's Extra Dry Gin (that I reviewed last October) plus natural Mandarin orange flavors. This is the first flavored gin I have had, except for the traditional, old fashioned Sloe gin, which is a liqueur with Sloe berries. Seagram's also makes a Lime Twisted Gin that I have yet to try.

The aroma is overwhelmingly orange. Not Mandarin orange or orange zest, but more of a strong orange candy smell. Hidden underneath, and just barely peeking through, is the aroma of Seagram's gin. I really like Seagram's Extra Dry Gin, but this Orange Twisted Gin just smelled too candy orange to me, so much so that I didn't even want to taste it. But I girded my loins and pushed on.

Thankfully the taste wasn't as strong as the smell. The orange flavor definitely was the main thing I noticed with just a slight presence of unremarkable gin behind it. It almost tasted more like a gin based orange liqueur than a flavored gin. It isn't terrible, but I didn't need to drink any more of this straight. So I added some tonic, hoping that it would mix well. I was wrong, it wasn't pleasing at all, to say the least. I really didn't like this flavored gin at all and I won't waste my time trying to describe it further. I think I'll stick to the excellent Seagram's Extra Dry Gin in the future.

Boodles British Gin is 45.2% abv. / 90.4 proof and is made by Chivas Brothers for Pernod Ricard, USA. Boodles was named after the Boodle's Gentlemen's club in St. James's, London, which was founded in 1762 and run by Edward Boodle.

I first tasted Boodles many years ago when I was club hopping in South Hampton in my late teens, with my best friend and roommate at that time named Jonathan. Having a roommate with the same name has its good and bad points, at least he had good taste in gin. Up until then I tended to order a Tanqueray and tonic when I was out, but Jon had just been served a Boodles and tonic and convinced me to try it as well. For the rest of that summer Boodles was my gin of choice. Of course back then there weren't many gins available like there are now, so Boodles was also exotic in the extreme. I found it had a more refined and elegant taste than other gins and eventually started to order it plain on the rocks. This was the gin that taught me to appreciate gin in and of itself, and the heck with tonic.

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Junipero Gin is 49.34 abv. / 98.6 proof and is made by Anchor Distilling Co. in San Francisco, the same folks who make the excellent Anchor Steam Beer and other fine brews. It has "more than a dozen" botanicals according to their website.

The aroma is very light, almost not present at all until I pressed my nose deep into the snifter. Then I got a slight but sharp alcohol smell with just the faintest trace of juniper and some unknown spices. I kept on sniffing the gin for a few minutes, trying to discern what the components of the aroma were. I spun and circled my glass so the spirit would coat the inside, so more would evaporate and the aroma would increase, but to no avail.

Finally I kept the snifter in my hand until it started to warm up and finally the nose of the spirit started to come out. I could smell faint spices, and some sharp juniper notes. I put down the glass so that I could type and picked it up again a minute later and the glass had cooled down and the aroma faded. So I started warming it up all over again. I have never had such a fight to bring out a gins aroma before. This was becoming an epic struggle indeed.

Finally the sharply spicy nose came out again and I could enjoy the aroma. Besides spice and juniper there was a floral component and something similar to the salt and iodine smell of the sea breeze that was coursing through my windows. As more time went while I kept the glass warm in my hands, the aroma increased and developed more of the floral notes and became quite pleasing. Then surprisingly some cocoa notes appeared, Something I haven't noticed in a gin before. I guess I have become more attuned to cocoa lately, since I have been consulting to a local, fine chocolate maker the past few weeks; helping them develop new styles of couverture chocolates filled with spirits, liqueur, and wine.

The taste is sharp and tangy with a nice juniper presence and some spices. It gives you a solid hit up front and then most of the taste finishes fast. If you like juniper and sharp spice notes then you will like this gin. Personally I don't find that it does too much for me, and it has a bit too much of a sharpness and burn to it. That I don't care for it that much is interesting, because I really like these sort of flavors. I think it just isn't complex enough for me and the taste comes off as, basically, just one note. Now I am not saying this is a bad gin, because it's quite good, but it just doesn't overwhelm me like many others have. It doesn't even whelm me at all, to be frank. Now that the aroma has come out, I find I like that much better than the taste. I know Junipero has won several awards, and many people sing its praises, but I just don't get it.

Broker's Premium London Dry Gin is 47% abv. / 94 proof and is made at a 200 year old distillery outside of London in a traditional copper pot still. They start with triple distilled pure grain spirits made from English wheat and then steep ten botanicals in it for 24 hours before distilling it for the final time. It is a relatively new brand in that is was created in 1998 by two English brothers.

The natural botanicals used in Broker's Gin are : Juniper from Italy or France, Cinnamon from Sri Lanka, Coriander from France, Liquorice from Spain, Orris from Italy, Orange peel from Spain, Nutmeg from Indonesia or the West Indies, Lemon peel from Spain, Cassia from South East Asia, and Angelica root from France. I find it interesting that they use both real Ceylon Cinnamon and Cassia (what we call cinnamon here in the US) to give the gin a double dose of cinnamon.

Broker's Gin comes in a tall, softly rounded corner bottle with a Bowler Hat perched jauntily on top.

The aroma is medium light but quite complex with mild notes of cinnamon, juniper, citrus, and nutmeg coming through with a sense of flowers wafting along on to. This is a very pleasant smelling gin, not overwhelmingly heavy like some; but very, very nice. Complex is the key term in it's aroma. I enjoyed sniffing deeply for a few minutes before taking my first sip from a snifter, until I started to get a wee bit woozy from inhaling the alcohol so deeply. Not a bad thing, but not too helpful when I am trying to get a few hours of writing in before I set off for a grueling day of cruising around the beautiful countryside. Do you see what lengths I go to provide you readers with my tasting notes?

The taste is also medium light and very complex. Hints of juniper, very faint citrus, flowers, and spice come through. It is very well balanced with no one flavor coming through more so than any other. While this is a classic London Dry style gin, it also is very smooth with no sharp notes and no burn. It is so enjoyably smooth it almost has an oily texture to it. If it wasn't a little before 7am I would have more to taste than the 1/2 ounce I alloted myself in my tasting snifter. I had forgotten how good this gin is since I haven't had it in awhile. Broker's call this a premium gin, and it most definitely is. I see why it has won so many awards. I eagerly look forward to this evening when I can get reacquainted with Broker's again in depth. I just wish I had a Derby to perch jauntily on my head as well.

GranGala Triple Orange Liqueur is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is made in Italy with an Italian 1984 V.S.O.P brandy and the choicest oranges sourced from around the world.

The aroma is rich, warm, complex, with a pleasant blending of sweet and bitter orange notes, balanced with a fine brandy base. Balance is definitely the word that comes to mind when sniffing this liqueur. The orange is very present, but not overwhelming, and you also get the brandy notes coming through nice and solid. The color is a attractive medium orange brown.

The taste is also complex, but balanced, with many layers of flavor following each other along your tongue in waves. First you get this light flavor of oranges and brandy coursing through your mouth. Then a nice mild bitter orange taste comes along briefly, followed by a rush of brandy, then along comes a sweet orange and orange zest wave of warmth that lingers with a long finish. The brandy and orange flavors finally leave your tongue but stay with you in the back of the mouth and throat with a comforting tingling warm presence.

GranGala Triple Orange Liqueur is made with infusion and distillation methods. First, fresh, sweet orange peels (not bitter oranges) are infused in Stock 1984 V.S.O.P. brandy, then this is gently distilled with only the 'heart' of middle of the run used to make the liqueur.

In a margarita taste test conducted by the Beverage Testing Institute, GranGala scored the highest with 94 points (versus 86 points for Grand Marnier), GranGala was also judged best for orange flavor and smoothness.

Hardys 2003 Botrytis Semillon is 11.5% abv. and packaged in 375 ml. bottles. The wine is 18.2 brix at harvest and the wine has residual sugar of 210 grams per liter.

The Hardys Winery in South Eastern Australia was established in 1853 and they have been making fine wines, including dessert wines, what the Aussies call 'stickies' for over 150 years. Their wines are made from premium grapes sourced from and grown in diverse areas and multiple vineyards then blended and crushed together depending upon the type and style of wine.

This is the second vintage of Botrytis Semillon released in the US by Hardys, following the 2005 launch of their 2002 Botrytis Semillon. In the near future I will do a vertical tasting of the two and compare them.

The color of the wine is a medium golden yellow, with a medium to full body with a nice, slightly syrupy mouth feel. It has that classic Australian "stickie" feel in your mouth, like many other fine dessert wines.

The aroma is that of a combination of a young dessert wine type of fruits, like green apple and one of the sweeter pineapple varieties such as a 'Gold' or a South African 'Victoria'; and more mature wine flavors like golden sultana raisins.

The taste is a melange of both young and mature wines, again with the afore mentioned pineapple and golden sultanas; as well as dried apricots, hints of figs, and honey, with a nice presence of botrytis, and carried by some slight oak.

The finish is medium to long lasting and very complex as all the flavors meld together.

This in excellent wine and at an approximate cost of $14.99 for 375 ml. it's a bargain as well.