Heart of ginI received my first free product sample as a result of my blog writing yesterday. And, on top of that, I received my first piece of correspondence addressing me as ‘The Cocktail Nerd‘. Heady times indeed! The product I was sent is a newly-developed gin called G’Vine Gin. The tag-line found under the tasting notes card states, ‘If you don’t like traditional gin, you will love G’Vine.’ Fair enough, but for the record, I happen to love traditional gin so I assume I’m free to not love G’Vine. And, as a side note, I wonder at the wisdom of warning almost everyone who does like traditional gin away from their product, because that’s the corrollary to their statement, ‘If you do like traditional gin, this probably isn’t for you.’ But, marketing’s not my game and I know for a fact there are plenty of people who won’t go near a gin bottle; so they may be right.

So, the first question for me, and I took it very seriously, was how to write a fair and complete product review. Now, I don’t consider my palate with any spirit to be sensitive and trained enough to suss out the flavors and bouquet of a gin on its own. Though, if there’s any spirit with which I consider myself versed in and know what I like and to look for, it’s gin, so that’s a start1 . So:

Selection/Samples:  I decided my process needed to be as scientific as possible in terms of having products to compare G’Vine to that 1: are similar in quality and 2: I am highly familiar with and/or also seek to achieve G’Vine’s same distinctive quality from ‘traditional’ gins. So, it was in this spirit I selected Bombay Sapphire Gin, a gin with which I am extremely familiar and which aspires to be the quintessential ‘London Dry’ gin, as a sort of ‘control’ group; Van Gogh Gin, a gin with which I’m very familiar but also seeks to differentiate itself from traditional London Dry gin; and, of course, the G’Vine product which was completely new and foreign to me. Now:

Methodology: well… shit; I have to come up with a freaking process. Hmmmmmm, I read somewhere about a method of culling out the bouquet of a gin… Oh yes, Bingo! So, I’ll pour a half ounce of each into a small rocks glass, swirl them, and take notes on their bouquets. Now as far as the tasting is concerned, a warning in my brain resounded from this post regarding relying too heavily on testing gins solely on their qualities when served ‘neat’. But, I still wanted to taste them at their most bare, so I decided after the ‘cupping’ process to release the aromas I would sample each of them neat from the already poured half ounce. But, that leaves finding out their character within a cocktail to be dealt with. I didn’t want anything too complex but I did want it to be a drink that had both sweet and tart or bitter characteristics but still featured the gin. I went with mixing a Gin Gin Highball for each gin after the ‘neat’ taste:

Gin Gin Highball2

  • 1 1/2 oz gin
  • 5 oz ginger ale (I reduced it to 4 oz and used White Rock Ginger Ale – lighter than most)
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • lemon peel, for garnish

Build in a highball glass over ice. Stir well and garnish with the lemon peel.

The samples and process determined, we begin (hang on a sec, I’ll grab my notes…).

Bombay Sapphire Gin:bombay_sapphire_gin1.jpg

Bombay Sapphire is distributed by Bacardi and uses a distillation process whereby the alcohol vapors are passed through a bundle containing 10 herbs and spices where it builds its flavor and bouquet. It describes itself as smooth and delicate and as having the absence of any harsh alcohol sensation as well as, paradoxically, being both full-bodied and light-bodied ‘in mouth’. Versus in one’s pants I suppose. 

Bombay Sapphire used to be one of my favorite gins, but as my palate and experience with cocktails grow I find myself more drawn to regular Bombay, Plymouth, and other gins more on the drier side. So, we shall see.

Cupping/Bouquet: Bombay Sapphire hs a very strong juniper scent with heavy coriander and citrus notes. There is a sense of alcohol there, but overall the nose of the herbs and spices dominate.

‘Neat’ Tasting:  This has a very very long finish that is smooth, however this is after a sharp front where a mild alcohol ‘burn’ is present. In terms of flavor and body it mostly settles into a full-bodied experience with a lot of berry notes blending as the flavor develops and progresses. The peppery and coriander tastes I was expecting from the smell of it weren’t nearly as prevalent as I thought they would be.

Cocktail Tasting:  This is where the strength of the gin and its dryness really come through. The sweetness of the ginger ale was all but drowned out by the Bombay Sapphire, and oddly enough, the peppery/coriander notes I caught from the scent were back; causing it to blend with the bitters nicely. However, at the end of the day, my wife and I agreed that the Sapphire seems to have prevented the drink from coming completely together based on comparing it to the others, especially the Van Gogh.
 

Van Gogh Gin:
vg_gin.gifVan Gogh gin is ‘hand-crafted’ in Holland, is also triple-distilled, and also uses 10 botanicals and herbs in its distillation process for flavor. My in-laws are great fans of this gin and I’ve certainly noticed it’s never steered me wrong in mixing drinks even though it isn’t as strongly-flavored or dry as the Bombay line, Beefeater, or Plymouth gins.

This gin does try to depart from the London Dry style and doesn’t reach for the strong juniper emphasis that style requires but is closer to that family of spirits than traditional Dutch genevers. In terms of ‘premium’ quality this is closer to the G’Vine in its price tag than the Bombay Sapphire which may become important if you’re looking at those two products side-by-side.

Cupping/Bouquet: Van Gogh is the highest-proof gin of this lot (94 proof) and the nose is almost entirely of isopropyl alcohol. It’s actually rather uncanny and if caught in a pinch, this is what I’d use to tend to a wound. To be fair there is a bit of apple and pepper in the background, but wow.

‘Neat’ Tasting:  Van Gogh has a very different texture than the Bombay, which was light, and comes across the tongue as slightly oily. This isn’t unpleasant at all and is probably responsible for the lack of alcohol burn I experienced with the Sapphire. As it finishes a lot of fruit and citrus flavors come out that seem more complex than the apple I took from the cupping process.

Cocktail Tasting:  This gin is much lighter and complementary in the drink than the Bombay. In fact, Joana and I both were astounded at how well the gin retained its character and yet brought the drink together seamlessly and effortlessly. There was no fighting among the ingredients and the balance of the gin against the ginger ale (sweet) and the bitters was note-perfect. You hate to use this as a mixer, but I’ve rarely found a gin that didn’t get overly subdued perform so well. Joana mentioned the drink was almost Pimm’s Cup-ish in its refreshing and smooth quality. It’s a shame this company is spending an inordinate amount of time and money promoting its flavored vodkas; this is sublime.

G’Vine Gin:
g-vine_gin.gif
This gin uses a three-part process in which the base neutral spirit is first distilled from Ugni Blanc grapes grown in the Cognac region of France and infused with the macerated green grape flower. Then, a separate non-infused batch of the neutral grape spirit is distilled in small batches using nine botanicals and herbs in a similar process as London Dry gins undergo. Finally, in the third step, the infused spirit, the botanical distillate, and more of the neutral spirit are combined and distilled once again to reach the final product.

As you can probably guess, all of this additional labor and process will be reflected in the price of this ultra-premium gin.The marketing materials make no bones about and do not apologize for this gin being targeted at those who don’t like the London Dry-style of gin and/or prefer vodka as a mixer. It’s obvious from the literature and website that the product’s main features should be smoothness and a distinctive character. Let’s see.

Cupping/Bouquet: Holy juniper-berry Batman! This is very floral and sweet in its character and unlike anything I’ve been exposed to. There’s some of the isopropyl alcohol scent I got from the Van Gogh but it is heavily smothered with candied-fruit, floral, and licorice notes.

‘Neat’ Tasting:  This is extremely smooth, much like the character of Ciroc vodka (also distilled from grapes). There’s an oiliness with none of the alcohol burn of the Bombay. It’s not as full-bodied or as dry as either of the others but it is very distinctive in its floral, ginger, and licorice flavors.

Cocktail Tasting:  Ok here’s the deal; this gin completely changes the character of the drink. It doesn’t make it a bad drink mind you, not at all, but I would strongly recommend avoiding just swapping this gin out for another in a recipe; you’ll have a completely different creature than you expect. I will say that the strength of the floral, and almost perfume-y, flavors in this product overwhelmed this particular drink. My wife commented several times that it reminds her of a high-quality flavored tea. It’s much less dry than the other gins, and I think the bottom line is that this should almost be treated as a florally-infused vodka with some relation to gin. You know, like a 2nd cousin to gin. The quality of the product comes through but this needs to be handled carefully in developing recipes around it. And I can definitely see this being enjoyed straight up.

In the final equation this was a great exercise in demonstrating how when dealing with different ingredients with differing characters it’s vitally important to know those characteristics intimately and adjust accordingly. Now, you and I probably already knew that, but this just reinforces and puts into bas relief just how important that principle is in developing and mixing drinks. The G’Vine gin has a place at establishments serving luxury and innovative cocktails, however, great care needs to be taken in how it’s used and it needs to have drinks developed that feature it versus it being used as a ‘call’ spirit or an upsell opportunity to guests. So, until next time, I’ll be waiting for it to make its way to Oklahoma. It might be awhile.

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  1. they also sent Partida Tequila but I’m not a frequent enough Tequila drinker to make a fair judgement, and for that reason, I won’t be writing a full review on it [↩]
  2. from Dale DeGroff’s ‘The Craft of the Cocktail’ [↩]