Hanami Gin

Fruity, floral and sweet.

A lovely gin that makes use of unique botanicals. The addition of cherry blossoms gives this gin a floral nose. Makes a lovely gin & tonic, and would be an interesting martini.

Let the bonus round begin! With each round of the SDT we each try to include an extra sample or two. These can be whiskies, mezcals, aged beer, wine, or in this case, gin (my first official gin review at that). It’s a nice way of exploring what’s out there. The nose starts out with sharp lemon and pine notes, as well as some alcohol burn. Juniper berries and heavy floral notes. Cherry blossoms and orange blossoms. Orange creamsicle, and I swear it got it more than once, but Cap’n Crunch Crunch Berries. Man that brought me back to fun childhood times and painful upper palate lacerations. The palate is straight up Pine-Sol. Lemon and pine and alcohol. Not very pleasant. Thankfully, a generous amount of water really softens the taste. It becomes floral with some tart berries. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and a mix between oily and creamy. A medium long finish with mostly lemon and pine. The nose was pleasant after some time, but the palate absolutely needed water. Granted I’ve only had a total of 3 gins in my life, but this one was my least favorite. Might be good in a mixed drink but I really don’t have the experience to recommend it. 3 stars and a thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers

This is my second gin ever, both gifted me by my friend @PBMichiganWolverine. I can’t say that gin would ever surpass my love for brown spirits, but I could get used to nosing gin. I love the wintery pine notes and the overall “clean” smells they give off. I’m not sure I could ever get used to the taste, though. The fresh pine is fine, but after that all I get is furniture polish. I’d have to spend a lot more time with a bunch of these pours to even hope to acquire a taste. As it is, I like the fact it’s a switch from the typical whiskies I drink daily. Thanks for the extra, Pranay. Cheers.