deangold Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Given our Pimm's project, we needed a bunch of gin. The first purchase was a 1.75 liter of Bombay sapphire on sale. This covered the fruit but did not fill the first 2 half gallon mason jars. So back to the VABC for another 1.75 of sapphire and 2 x 1.75's of Gordons. So once home, we finished off the pimms filling and now are heat infusing 4 half galllon jars: 2 Gordon's and 2 Bombay Sapphire {around 140 degrees for 3 hours. Too cool to boil off alcohol or water.} Then we tasted th Gordon's to see what is up with a cheap gin. It was nice! SO I pulled my English style gins off the bar and we tasted them. Gordons {80 proof) Surprisingly good. Classic gin w/pine & juniper notes an the nose, very gin like in a lighter, smooth style in the mouth. Brokers {94 proof} Very good indeed. Big, bold, classic gin. Lots of pine and spice on the nose, almost earthy. My personal favorite of the quartet. Bombay Sapphire {94 proof} More floral/spicy than either of the above, a tad lighter than the Brokers, much fuller than the Gordon's. This is my go to gin for Corpse revivers and variants. Plymouth {82.4 proof} Very different as it was the only non London dry style. Plymouth is its own style. Lighter, much closer to the Gordons befitting their lower proof. But the Plymouth has a delightful floral style and really has a delicacy. I now know that I need a Plymouth Martini when I am looking to refresh and the Brokers when I want to be braced. The Plymouth is for times I need to be treated gently {like after a loud meowing session from Spot!} The gordons is being infused with 3 kinds of Chili's, Arbol, Gaujillo, and Aleppo with black peppercorn, allspice, cinnamon & clove. It is destined for bloody mary's. There is some straight Gordons left, and I will either do a fruit infusion or go for a G & T, with plenty of lime, on a hot day. The Bombay will still be my CR choice, and I will branch out into Bee's Knees. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curls Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Interesting project. Have you considered adding Tanqueray and Hendricks into your comparisons? I think of Tanqueray as a typical London juniper forward gin and Hendricks as one of the first new non-juniper gins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 I didn't put Hendricks or Green hat into my mix. Tanq because I don't have any and Kay has this thing about paying the rent before we buy our 10th bottle of gin {Spot doesn't understang this obsession, he things the priority is pizza, cat chow and cat treats then rent because he like his {formerly our} bed. We also did thins test before dinner on relatively empty stomachs. There was a limit. I was surprised at how different and floral & spice the Plymouth was. I do want a bottle of Tanq as it was the gin of my childhood: I learned to make martinis making tanquerey martinis by the pitcher for him. I used to get to lick the bar spoon nad to eat the garnishing onions or olives. One of the greater benefits from having an alcoholic father. At least I learned my booze. I recently have added a bottle of Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, a good bottle of rye, Templeton, a couple of bottles of rum {Barbancourt 5* which is an amazing aged agricole/pure cane juice rum and Clement Canne white {again, pure cane/agricole} which is very hard to get at the VABC. My local store got a single case which they did not put into their online inventory} an every day bourbon {Kay drinks bourbon more than anything else: evan williams 1983 is really superb, and we need another good rye as this bottle of templeton is defective with too fast evaporation. So Tanq keeps on getting pushed back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 One of my favorite gins has not been easy for me to find in the states, but is called G'vine. It is a gin made with grapes which explains the name. A friend brought me some back from duty free on a trip to Paris after liking it. I was pleasantly surprised to see it mentioned in The Drunken Botanist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 I enjoy Hendrick's. But we have largely switched to Sipsmith. I love, love love Monkey42 I think it is called (Bavarian believe it or not). But my whole being pines for Isle of Harris Gin from Scotland - sean beansin the mix) - so damn good. I hear they ar enow exporting to Canada and am hoping it makes it to the USA soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deangold Posted June 4, 2020 Author Share Posted June 4, 2020 1 hour ago, Pool Boy said: I enjoy Hendrick's. But we have largely switched to Sipsmith. I love, love love Monkey42 I think it is called (Bavarian believe it or not). But my whole being pines for Isle of Harris Gin from Scotland - sean beansin the mix) - so damn good. I hear they ar enow exporting to Canada and am hoping it makes it to the USA soon. Have not tried Sipsmith yet. Heard good things. It's on sale for $34.99 this month at the VABC. What is it like? What I drink most is Brokers by a long bit, as it is my choice for negroni, martinis and I like to play with it in other drinks. Then it is Bombay Sapphire for corpse revivers and the ocasional Martinez. Hendricks and Green Hat for a chance of pace. And really any gin can be used in a negroni if you just adjust you choice of campari-like element and vermouth-like element. We have not been drinking as many Negronis as usual lately. Have no idea why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted June 5, 2020 Share Posted June 5, 2020 21 hours ago, deangold said: Have not tried Sipsmith yet. Heard good things. It's on sale for $34.99 this month at the VABC. What is it like? What I drink most is Brokers by a long bit, as it is my choice for negroni, martinis and I like to play with it in other drinks. Then it is Bombay Sapphire for corpse revivers and the ocasional Martinez. Hendricks and Green Hat for a chance of pace. And really any gin can be used in a negroni if you just adjust you choice of campari-like element and vermouth-like element. We have not been drinking as many Negronis as usual lately. Have no idea why. It's got a bit of a punch, but is in balance and forward. Great overall cocktail base IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool Boy Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 Has anyone else tried the Monkey 42 Bavarian gin? It's not for everyone, but I enjoy it for a change of pace. Unusual. Floral of an Alpinian nature. It's wicked expensive but worth a try at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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