Bluecoat Elderflower Gin

The huge gap between this review and the one on the barrel aged version, even though I purchased them at the same time, is due to me needing to make (see: drink) some more space on the gin shelf to fit the bottle. In any case, I tried this (and every other product available) while at the pop-up storefront in the King of Prussia mall, and remember thinking at the time that this should be the flagship, base gin as compared to the original, blue-glass bottle version. The original seemed both harsh and boring, while this one, with the simple addition of elderflower, rounds things out and can easily attract a bigger crowd, or so I remember. Objectively, the proof is decent but still low, the color is a fun and unique change to the gin world, and, to a lesser degree, the bottle art and style are also very attractive. As stated before, the color is definitely unique, although under inspection, the hazy, cloudy, muted tone gives my brain reason to be a little hesitant in drinking it. The actual hue is a mix between straw and preserved lemon juice. The nose begins with, as expected, a great amount of elderflower, but not too much to be overly sweet or overpowering. The other scents from the base gin play much nicer with this added florality, including fresh citrus oil (with a focus on lemon), a bit of cardamom, and enough juniper to give a spicy edge, but without the dry side you'd find from a version across the pond. The initial flavor is a little aggressive and unrefined, and comes off as spicy and juniper-forward, but this similarity to the original gin ends here, as the elderflower brings about a floral flavor that keeps things from getting too hot or plain. This also helps to bring out the fresh citrus oils from the nose, which move around the now rounded profile through the tongue, despite the gums beginning to burn a bit from the slightly higher proof and juniper heavy simplicity of the entire blend. The finish is fairly dry, but again, not so heavy that I'd think this was a London gin. Having been through most of the Philadelphia Distilling and Bluecoat portfolio, I still think this is a better representation of their flagship, base gin than it is without the addition of the elderflower. I don't remember the cost, but since most gins are pretty inexpensive (with very few exceptions), I'm guessing this is no different, and is worth the pick-up over the blue glass bottle and stands well on it's own. I'm not certain that the claim on the bottle that Bluecoat "pioneered what is now known as American dry style gin" is accurate, but I've also only heard American gin and dry gin used as separate categorizers until now, and I now think this style name perfectly describes this entire product line.

The elderflower is more of an essence than a flavoring. Subtle to the point of confusion and missing your expectations. This is still a strong gin, though. The elderflower comes out more when this is mixed than straight.