u/Particular-Wall1308

Hello everyone! In case this is your first time seeing my reviews, I wait until the end of a bottle to review it. I sip mostly neat but also make a variety of cocktails. I work at a distillery and also bartend. Gin is my passion.

Today I am reviewing JCB gin from France. They use upcycled Pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes for the base spirit which really elevates the experience if you’ve ever had grape based gins! 47 plants total with only a few made public (grrrrr…). A hearty price tag of usually 120$ at my local Arlington total wine, but I’ve seen it as low as 60$. I got mine on sale for 80$. Still a big price so the expectations are high.. obviously this lovely bottle will go nice in my collection. But the spirit needs to be good.

The nose is quite amazing. A floral, delicate, spicy, and rich forward bouquet leads the way followed by juniper which is quite faint but accompanied by spices and faint citrus. Really a lot going on here and I like that for this gin.

The taste is pretty stunning. A tea-like, wine-like spice leads the way followed by floral juniper. A warm earthy taste w coriander and bitter sweet honey-like taste follows. Real long longevity with strong complexity; lots of flavor!! Subtle sweetness but not much citrus (though it is there for sure). Every sip is a new experience honestly.

Overall: 4.6/5- would’ve rated higher but honestly, not worth the sometimes triple digit price. If you find it on sale, I recommend it. Sips neat LOVELY!

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Hello everyone! Today I am reviewing the French gin, Normindia! Only 8 public botanicals with 7 kept secret. These secret botanicals certainly restrict me from being able to accurately describe the taste but I will work with what is available!

The smell is very Apple, ginger, and cinnamon forward! The smell reminds me of a fresh farmers market. Earthy and spicy with bitter citrus notes.

The taste reminds me very much of Ameris, a gin I reviewed here before. An earthy musky spice blends with apple sweetness and distant orange. Very much a contemporary gin because juniper is very hidden and hard to detect (though not invisible). Not much longevity but tons of flavor. Not too sweet but notable. It has an earthy spice note that is not my favorite but I can imagine others loving it.

Overall- 3.7/5- a solid gin but there are better options. Can imagine that if you like the apple ginger taste you will go crazy for this gin! No regrets pickin this up!

Boodles is by far my favorite classic London dry! An interesting fact about boodles is that it is one of the few gins with no citrus botanicals! I have reviewed the horrible Snoopdog Indoggo and also Mermaid’ strawberry gin! I am not a fan of super sweet gins but the strawberry style can be… fun I guess…

Smell is nothing special, a slightly tangier strawberry than the other gins with very faint gin botanicals in the far distance!

Taste is, for the strawberry gins, really good. When we review, we must judge a gin on what it is trying to be. The rhubarb and natural flavoring really give this gin some tart that is needed for such a juicy sweet strawberry flavor. Not much gin taste but again, it’s not trying to be gin-ish, it’s trying to be a strawberry alcohol with some underlining botanical flavors.

Overall: 4/5- I have rated gins that I would prefer over this a little lower, but remember, I am grading this gin based on a categorical nature. It would be unfair to compare this to Procera or Monkey 47

Hello everyone, today I am reviewing Highclere’s London dry gin! They have a barrel aged and a peach rose gin that I also hope to acquire. I am a fan of clean London drys, so let’s see what’s going on here.

The nose of this gin is wonderful! A juniper floral blend on the head with a nice sharpness followed by earthy/spiced floral end notes.

The taste is creamy up front with a thick texture. Juniper forward with clear floral sweetness following immediately after. The lime and coriander (common gin plants) have a distinct taste in this gin that I really like. A taste of baked goods is also there, with some heavy sweetness and subtle spice from the Angelica root. Great complexity with lots of clarity! Fair longevity. A bit sweet, but it’s natural and not synthetic tasting!

Overall- 4.4/5, a bit sweet for me, but a savory gin nonetheless. I really enjoyed this bottle and hope you consider picking it up someday.

Hello everyone, if you are like me, you may find that Sam is holding some positions that you not only disagree with, but seem out of Sam's nature for him to hold in the manner he does. I am a long-time fan, as this letter will detail, so I am not approaching this topic unreflectively. If you want to criticize my letter, I only ask that you read it all first. Please share this letter so Sam might see it.

https://substack.com/@jacksezer/note/c-253122938?r=27zkbv&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web

Life has been crazy so I haven’t reviewed anything in a while, but here we are! Today I am reviewing the Argentinian gin, Principe! This gin stuck out to me because it has mate leaves, eucalyptus leaves, peppermint, and only grapefruit for citrus! Sounded interesting!

The smell is god awful, like leathery soil after a thunderstorm! Real rough smell with no other redeeming qualities!

Taste is way better than smell but still quite unsatisfactory. Sweet juniper leads followed by a bitter earthy Smokey taste that reminds me too much of the smell. Not much complexity and not much longevity either. Doesn’t taste synthetic, but not very versatile either. I made it work in a Negroni but GnTs weren’t so lucky. The bitter sweet taste is just not for me, but maybe you!

Overall 2.3/5 stars- pretty rough, but good transparency on the bottle of what’s going on and an interesting flavor profile regardless!