I maybe should be a little bit ashamed that in a household of two adults we are clearly outnumbered by bottles of gin. I'm not though as for years I've tried to do the whole wine thing looking like I know what I'm doing as I peruse the wine aisle in my local supermarket, but in all honesty I have only three rules. I don't do Australian, New Zealand or South African are good and if in doubt buy a bottle of Oyster Bay.
Where as with gin I feel like I'm starting to get educated beyond the fact that it's tastes great, suits every occasion and doesn't give me a hangover! I'm now getting hooked on trying different gins in pursuit of finding the perfect gin. Luckily for me Sean is a willing companion on this journey to gin utopia, we have the bottle of Bathtub thanks to his impulse shopping.
Let's just get on thing clear though before we start, I'm not a gin snob, but the gins we currently have gracing our drinks cupboard don't include the average gins your likely to see on the top self of your local, like Gordon's and Bombay Sapphire, but then it's seems a little pointless as most gin drinkers will have tried those anyway. Plus Bombay Sapphire is banned in out house as we are both convinced that we are allergic to something in it.
So if you fancy trying something new my notes below might help you to decide on which gin you should invest in next...
As the name may suggest this gin has a flowery aroma, if it was a person it would definitely be a girl called Isabella. It's delicate flavour is enhanced with natural botanicals of chamomile, pomelo and honeysuckle. Although the new flavours are interesting they don't overpower the true routes of the gin.
I also think the bottle design is worth a mention, it's tactile green jewel cut glass and elegant tall shape give it a vintage feel that begs to be pick up and appreciated.
To me this is a perfect Spring time gin, maybe wearing you best tea dress and enjoying high tea in the garden (ok, ok that's in my fantasy world where I live in a house with a big garden and have time to organise high tea!) At least I can sip this gin, close my eyes and pretend :-)
Hendricks
This is the gin that made me realise that I was missing something good, well not good, great. The first time I tried it I was lying in the sun with Jade. I think that my love for this gin has a lot to do with nostalgia.
The addition of cucumber to its list of botanicals give this gin a unique freshness that means it is a perfect gin for summer sipping. You have to do it properly though, it's just not the same without a slice of cucumber that really enhances the fresh flavours. Be warned though, on a hot day, sat in a beer garden this goes down like Lemonade, it's deceptively good, some may say even dangerously!
Chase
Currently Sean's favourite, it's a clean, crisp and distinctly citrusy (not sure that's even a word!) gin. It's one of the very few cold pressed gins and is made from apples. The tart flavours of orange, lemon and brambles apples are the lasting flavours. It benefits from 'ice and a slice' and don't get me wrong it's lovey, but it doesn't set my world alight. I feel a little bit bad for not liking it more and dare I say it it's bottle design also leaves me a little deflated. Again there nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't make me exicted about opening the bottle and pouring me self a G&T
Bathtub
I feel that this gin may be the reason Chase hasn't set my gin world on fire. This gin is awesome, yep there I said it, better than Hendricks? Possibly, in the right context. Bathtub would be my autumnal tipple, in my fantasy world I'd be sitting in front of a bit log fire :-)
It's bottle design can rival the best and it's definitely the reason we bought it. We didn't know what to expect from this curious little bottle, encased in brown paper which looks like its been u earth from some ancient archeologist site, you need to break the wax seal before you can pour your first glass.
It's a spicy gin that has a lasting flavour of cinnamon, I think if you like Morgan Spice Rum or Jerry Sailor it may be the gin for you. My top tip would be don't add anything to your glass but ice, a slice of lime or lemon kills it for me, you really don't need it as it has enough going on already.
Tanqueray No.Ten
Tanqueray is to gin what Delia Smith is to cooking, a safe pair of hands that never lets you down, and sometimes in life we all need a bit of that. Tanqueray No. Ten takes that one step further, it's made in small batches and instead of just using the peel of the fruits they use the whole fruit to flavour this gin. I like using it to make cocktails. Every gin drinker should have some sort of Tanqueray in their armor!
I'll update this in time when I've managed to get my mitts on some more gins to try. But there's enough here to keep you busy until then. In my pursuit to finding the perfect gin my only conclusion is that man cannot live by one gin alone. For every occasion there's a perfect gin.
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