Skip to main content

Review: G'vine Gin

I've had this bottle of G'vine sitting around, taunting me, since almost last December. Frankly, it scared me. It was the unholy union of grape flowers (which bloom for about two weeks before becoming a fruit) and juniper, along with some other spices. UNNATURAL I TELL YOU!

As it was recently awarded a gold medal for taste, beating out all the other fine gins, I decided to make it a priority to taste it over this past weekend.

Take a whiff
A deep breath brings about a strong smell of Spring. The flower smell is strong and the overtones of Juniper and licorice come to the forefront. A little nutmeg and lime showed up too, but only for a second with the Juniper coming back to the front.

Take a drink
The four-times distillation process is rather evident as the first taste immediately feels clean. The botanicals quickly take over though and I didn't get as much grape flavor as I expected. Instead I found the Juniper to take hold and show off why they call this a gin and not a flavored vodka or some other type of drink. The Juniper flavor actually reminded me of Bulldog Gin, strong and proud and right in the front. When I made a martini out of it, the other major flavor that stood out all the way through the finish was the licorice. When I made it in to a Gimlet, I was able to better find the nutmeg and lime that I smelled earlier.

Take a bow
The bottom line is G'vine Gin is damned good. Not only will you be able to use it in your regular gin recipes to give them a new and unique taste, but you'll be able to come up with some other new recipes that can play to its strengths. Though I wasn't able to call it better than Hendrick's and so Hendrick's will remain my favorite, I can definitely see why some judges would rate it higher as it's uniqueness sets off the palate with a much stronger flavor profile and a longer finish.

I don't know that I would use this stuff on someone who is not already a gin drinker, I think it could set them off. Use a crossover gin like DH Krahn first, then blow them away with the G'vine.

G'vine Gin
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some thanks and virtual bartender

As of last week we averaged over 1,000 users per day. That's pretty damned cool. I'm surprised to see it myself considering how poor we rank on Technorati, but Performancing.com doesn't lie! In case you live under a rock, the Virtual Bartender are girls that do as you command, just like any good bartender does. They each have a huge list of commands and the most recent version has two girls. The shot pictured is them doing Star Wars. But they make out, shake ass, and many other things (no nudity, but plenty of cheesecake). They seem to do a lot of stuff except being able to make a martini. Brilliant. Virtual Bartender - [beer.com] Tags: bartender , beer , thanks
3 comments
Read more

Electric Martini Maker

Martini's are such a difficult concept that Waring thought they would make it easier on all of us. Okay, so I know that the reason for having this is for Coolness Value and not for the idea that you actually need a machine to mix your martini's. The Waring Pro Electric Martini Maker can take your concoction and do the tedious work of mixing it by either stirring or shaking, depending on which button you press. Remember kids, stir gin, shake vodka. The on light even has a green olive on it. But what if I want a twist? Waring Pro WM007 Professional Electric Martini Maker - US$99.99 via Treehugger (Who says you need to buy carbon credits for owning this one)
8 comments
Read more

Bluecoat Gin Review

The bottle of Bluecoat Gin arrived the other day and I ripped in to it with vigor. My newfound love for Gin has become boundless and when I get a new one I put it ahead of the line of all the other stuff that I still need to try and review. I was like a kid on Christmas Day, however I was heavily medicated and had to patiently bide my time until I was no longer popping pills in order to try it out lest my liver implode leaving a dark, black hole in my innards of Mickey Mantle proportions. How's it look? The bottle comes pretty much as advertised. It's a simple blue bottle with Bluecoat on it and a coat of arms. The cap is an easy-to-pull cork that did not make me do any sort of contortion in order to get it open. Thank you Bluecoat Gin! What's it smell like? One word: OhMyGod. This is far and away the best smelling gin I have ever put my nostrils to. The juniper and floral notes were amazing and did not take any time to get used to. Most gins require two whiffs: One...
17 comments
Read more