Tastes

As always, I'm very happy to support veteran owned and operated distilleries. Although I would say that Hotel Tango's whiskeys are not ready yet, their lemoncello proved very tasty, and I'm hoping their gin does as well. The only way to find out is to taste it from my USAF Glencarin. The scent is quite clean, almost too much so, bordering on a household cleaner. There is medium juniper, plenty of lemon and lime oil, and a hint of some savory spices, specifically clove. The proof is decent at 90, and does require me to recoil after each scent. The taste is at first underwhelming, but rockets into black pepper and clove, amongst other hot and savory spices, just a few seconds in. What's nice is that the spice and the proof don't get too hot, so this very unique flavor profile can be enjoyed. There's juniper here as well, but it's either being overshadowed by the spices or I am simply ignoring it in favor of everything else. The finish is medium, with more of the same aforementioned flavors. I am a fan of this, but this doesn't even taste like what I would consider the flavors of gin to be. I would more readily believe that this is a black pepper distillate, or something similar, given the very strong and concentrated flavors of these dried spices. It excites me to think of how this can transform martinis, or gin & tonics, or how it could be controlled with sour fruit juices, or any other cocktail experiments. As with everything else I've had from Hotel Tango, it's got great flavor, but certainly stands tall as something different.

Tasting from a 50ml sample. I have no idea why I bought this, other than Snoop Dogg will never not be hilarious. It's even more hilarious that gin would be his spirit of choice to market, but it being a flavored spirit is a safe gamble for any celebrity backed liquor. Thank God, at least it pours clear. Nothing like "all natural strawberry flavoring" to scare the shit out of an enthusiast. The nose, however, is absolutely full of artificial strawberry, some sweet, and some sour. No juniper to be found, but there is a small hint of floral notes, and an even smaller note of black pepper. Wow, it definitely tastes like a flavored spirit. The initial flavor is as you'd expect, full of strawberry candy and sticking to you like sugar. A redeeming factor for me is how this is still 80 proof, and once you get past the initial sweet shock, there is a typical full spirit behind it, albeit short and simple. There is a spice and juniper combo that lingers through the finish, but there's simply no getting away from the strawberry cling. I had absolutely no hopes of liking this, but it's always fun to try and laugh at celebrity liquors (so long as you don't fall into the trap of buying a full bottle). This flavored gin was clearly made for a party crowd doing shots, and it certainly goes down easy in that application. If all you like about gin is the name or the people around you who drink it, put a bottle of this on ice and I'm sure you'll be the star of the party in no time.

Tasting from a 50ml sample. No knowledge of this prior, just can never turn down 50ml samples of new things. The scent has quite a sweetness to it, that reminds me of pure corn whiskey new make, and likely has to do with the organic corn choice of the base spirit here. There's also some lighter vegetal notes, like cucumber and other green skinned veggies. The juniper smells like a good amount in there, enough to where the black pepper notes are even prominent, but it is being overshadowed by the sweet/base spirit. The first sip showcases a light body, and the sweetness is first up, but not nearly as much as found in the scent. The same light vegetal notes come back, and almost matches the veggies you'd find in grandma's backyard during the summer. The juniper comes in last, and finishes things off with a surprising spice kick, that lingers much longer than I would have expected it to. There's a characteristic here that feels like this gin is too sweet, and almost syrupy. It doesn't taste like that, but does feel like it a bit. It's got the body of a cheaper spirit, but the taste of a higher quality one at the same time. I've never seen a full size bottle of this anywhere (although I may have simply never been looking for it), but this seems like the perfect gin to strictly have around for G&Ts, where it would blend perfectly with the mixer and just let the flavor come through. So long as the price is good, I would recommend this with a bar spout on top, and just go to town.

This is the second gin I'm trying from this distiller, the first being the rye variant. 19 seems like a great number for botanicals; it seems at first a little high, but it has room to insert some unique items, like the cilantro. I am also excited that there are so many of them that are steeped as opposed to added to the gin basket, so I look forward to a different blend to taste. There is mostly floral and herbaceous notes on the scent, but no one thing that overpowers another. It smells like it would taste fantastic with some citrus, but I don't actually get any on the nose. You can tell juniper is there, but it's definitely an afterthought behind the other botanicals. The initial taste is certainly floral, and almost sweet, but I can still tell it's a gin. The taste really just develops from the smell that you get from standing in a National Park garden, but I still just vaguely get a citrus note suggestion, and if it's anything, I'd call it lemon and lime peels that were dried out and then rolled in sugar. The finish feels light, but the flavors that have been tasted thus far still shine evenly until the palate is completely cleared. This is especially nice given the slightly higher 90 proof on a gin. This variant was very impressive. I did not purchase the green label, which in all research seems like it would be the brand's flagship gin, but even without trying that one, I would argue that this should be the one that any gin novice turns to if they want an awesome American gin spin that is still very approachable for most casual drinkers. With the rye version also having it's own impressive notes to it, I am looking forward to purchasing full size bottles from this distillery, minus the green label variant, since I couldn't care less about California "specialties."

Highest rated gin on Distiller, eh? Well, it certainly costs it. I opted for the half bottle, not only due to the high cost, but also because I really don't think this is going to meld as well as I've heard; 47 botanicals has got to be too many. I haven't looked at all of them, but I have to imagine that around 30 is when you won't be able to taste individual flavors, and likely around 40 is when you'd have to start raiding your pantry just to be able to fill out all 47. Still though, most things that Germany produce are superior, so let's see what happens. This already starts out as intimidating, because even as I smell citrus, tea, and very slight juniper and black pepper, knowing that there are somehow 40 other things that I haven't picked up on is disappointing, and makes me think that I should be discovering much more on the scent. What I do get is very approachable, but only for a few seconds, as after that, the proof begins to burn away any of the more delicate notes. The initial taste is very citrus forward, but not so much in a fresh, juicy way, but more as if you're chewing on candied citrus peels. There is a flavor of black pepper and black pepper related botanicals, but the spice from these ingredients don't actually propagate. If you've had at least several different gins before, you'd be able to tell this is a juniper based spirit, but it's very faint, and quite easy to let the other botanicals take the lead. The finish lets whatever flavors you've been tasting ride themselves out without interruption, but if you're paying attention, you can still tell with the gums tingling that the proof of this gin is higher than most others. Honestly, this is a tasty, refreshing gin. However, there are many parts about it that are intimidating and seem to encourage amateur tasters to stay away. You could easily convince me that only 10-15 botanicals are used here, when in fact, that number would be less than a third of what is actually used. As I thought initially, I'm sure there was a line crossed where the distiller knew that the individual botanicals would no longer be able to be tasted, and instead opted on making a conglomerate that, although tastes good, only does so when a specific amount of all 47 botanicals are used, and would otherwise fall apart if not followed to the letter. I think it's because so many botanicals are used that the price is likely so high, as well, which is obviously fair to the consumer, but one would think is super frowned upon. Combine all of that, and it's easy to think you've got a "top shelf," "classy" gin, only used for sipping, when in reality, this would absolutely rock in a martini, and would still probably shine in a gin & tonic, but I can see being far too scared or cheap to try it. I'm sure all of that is somewhat unintentional, but it follows suit with the poisonous American whiskey community, which encourages consumers to savor the product instead of use it how it always should be, no matter what: how they like to drink it.

As a lover of rye whiskey, this is exciting. I've been so focused on the botanicals in gins that I've completely disregarded the base spirit, and what it had to be or could be. I expect this is to be a potent, spicy gin, so I'm hoping the simple botanical use is enough to come through a powerful body. The scent on this is easily black pepper, so much of it, like the legal amount needed to put in a proper sausage gravy to get it to turn gray. It's not just black pepper, though, but like the pepper was freshly ground on citrus peels, flower petals, and some tea leaves; very simple botanical choices, but that's good considering these are not the star here. This is room temperature at the moment, so to say the initial taste is hot would be unfair... For now. Tea and juniper are the first notes I get, followed by a floral body, with citrus coming much later, like half a minute past the finish. I couldn't help but compare this with a rye whiskey profile since I don't have any other gin to go off of, so I was expecting fresh cut grass, mint, and just a bit of wine-y malt. However, the botanicals actually keep the base spirit from getting too spicy, and allow only a fraction of the grass and rye spice through that's enough to taste, but not to experience or feel. That last paragraph took long enough to type that I was able to breathe some air in past a recent sip, and after a few breaths, a fresh rye bread taste manifested almost immediately. The botanicals had faded since then, so this was just that bread-y, minty taste, which I didn't think I would get. This leads me to believe that this gin could be really unlocked and discovered with very minimal or simple changes, like on ice, or with a lemon peel, but the uniqueness wouldn't hold up in a cocktail, unless it was seriously showcasing the gin itself. I take it the barrel aged version of this that Distiller mentioned is not ready yet, since I didn't see it in stores, but that would definitely be something I would snag to see how these flavors transform, despite absolutely loathing barrel aged gins in general. That, or a navy strength version would certainly kick ass, in more ways than one.