Gin Taste Test
Recently, Seattle Metropolitan magazine decided to put a few local (mostly Pacific Northwest) artisan distilled gins up against some of the old guard to see how they fared. For this taste test they called upon our own Robert Hess to lead the tasting panel. Also on the panel was Paul Clarke of Cocktail Chronicles as well as two others in the industry and a number of magazine staffers.
The gins they tasted were:
- Aviation from House Spirits Distillery
- Cascade Mountain from Bend Distillery
- Desert Mountain from Bend Distillery
- Hamptons from Hampton Spirit Company
- Hendricks from William Grant & Sons Distillers
- Junipero from Anchor Distilling
- Plymouth from Black Friar’s Distillery
- Tanqueray from Charles Tanqueray and Company
At Robert’s suggestion the gins were tasted in two different cocktails, a classic martini and the Aviation.
Four of the eight ended up being panel favorites but for different reasons.
They felt that Plymouth was solid in both cocktails; Junipero’s citrus flavors were highlighted in both cocktails and would be attractive to even new gin drinkers; Hendricks was very flowery and while great in the martini didn’t fair as well in the Aviation; finally, Aviation was not great in the martini but really came into its own in its namesake, the Aviation.
As with any spirits, your own personal preferences may vary from what others think but this taste test may provide you with an idea of new gins to try or, if you are new to gin, where to start.
Interesting results, and fairly well-matched to my own settled-upon decision: I use Hendrick’s in very gin-heavy drinks (mainly just the martini) and regular Tanqueray in less gin-heavy drinks.
I also occasionally like Beefeaters, for a martini — has a thicker, more oily mouthfeel, which is just right on certain days.