The nose has a surprising amount of anise, giving it a sweet aroma. There are bits of other spices like corriander and juniper balancing the sweet licorice, but not drowning it out by any means. The palate has a lot of licorice up front with some herbal flavors slipping in a a long numbing spiciness like Sichuan peppercorn. This seems like it could be good mixed with a bourbon to round out the aging. The sweetness is quite strong to the point of bordering on cloying, but there is balance from the other flavors. With the licorice, it almost tastes like some vanilla comes through in the sweetness. There's also an occasional bit of peppermint. This is actually quite good in an unexpected way. There isn't a huge amount of complexity, but there is a decent amount. It's a solid sipper for sure. This has a richer, meatier flavor than Monkey 47 and isn't as well balanced or as enjoyable. Still, this is tasty and thoroughly sippable, so it should be considered a successful gin. It has less of that Voyager vegetal oiliness, but it is weird in its own (more typical) way. It isn't easy to choose which of those two is better, but I'd lean in the direction of Voyager due to its nice balance. Aviation is definitely better than Beefeater though.
Cedar, juniper, and anise on the nose. The palate is surprisingly oily and rounded like Voyager with a prominent prickliness and a lot of anise. I like it better than Beefeater by a fair bit, though the taste is very subjective here. There's always something a bit funky and rummy going on here in the background with an odd meatiness. The sweet licorice stands out for sure, but in a really fun way. The bitter meat is a bit odd and difficult to reconcile here. It isn't bad, but it isn't what I really want either. Still, the flavor is mostly balanced and there is a fair amount going on here. It's interesting and fun, but lacks refinement. Voyager has more complexity, though it lacks the fun, sweet licorice and can leave a person confused.
25.0
USD
per
Bottle