Hendrick's Flora Adora

Bright floral nose and smooth soft flavor. It’s like a rose garden. Or a first spring rain when you taste and breathe in sweet spring florals. I mixed this with Fever Tree light tonic. I may try it with Cucumber tonic but I think it would be great neat and chilled.

I made a negroni today with this and carpano antica. Easily one of the best cocktails that I've ever had. Lots of punchy floral notes to contrast the sophisticated botanicals in the carpano, and it really stands up well to the bitterness of the Campari. I've used it for gin and tonic and it works nicely, but it just sings with Campari! I could literally drink it every day and never get tired of it!

It's been said a bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers. I like gin, and I like big, bold flavors. I like the unusual and this is the crest of that hill. Rarely am I taken so far from my expectations as this drink has taken me. I like the Hendricks special releases and they all have been quite enjoyable, but this is simply an exercise in "so you think that's all of it". This is what happens when you try to get all Spinal Tap with a fragrant elixir. This is so goddam flowery that you'll think you're drinking a cocktail made from potpourri. Fragrant and perfumy doesn't even begin to describe the zip code where this exists. This is gin turned up to 11 on the botanical and flower scale. I've tried this gin neat, on ice, with varieties of tonic and in a martini. This is unlike any gin I've have before. It's not easy to like, but it is easy to love. It is the single most floral gin I've ever tasted. It's complex, rich, layered and requires patient contemplation to reveal its reason for appreciation. My wife isn't a fan, but I like it! Juniper and coriander are there for sure, but they are in the background. Rose, chrysanthemum, dendrobium, and pansy take the foreground. This is a full on flower garden in bloom, and it works. Neat or on ice this is a delicious sipper. In a martini with a properly delicate vermouth like Dolin or Noilly Pratt this is an explosion of springtime on the taste buds. With soda and garnished with a wedge of ruby grapefruit this is a perfect Sunday brunch cocktail. I had this with Fever Tree Elderflower tonic - way too much of a good thing. Don't go there. With Indian tonic and a blood orange slice this redeemed itself as a tall drink. This is a polarizing gin. You'll love it or you'll hate it. You won't be neutral, and that's okay. This is a big flavor and very far from the usual. Clearly Ms Lesley Gracie has decided to leave the pasture of safe and expected and taken this to a new level. This is an 11 on the 1 to 10 scale of the tasteometer - it's louder and, therefore, better. You're probably not having 2 in a row, but I'm guessing if you like intense you'd like to have one every now and then. I know I do. What I'm thinking next is 'can this gin go where only a few liqueurs go?' This is as herbaceous as a St Germain, Benedictine or Chartreuse liqueur but without the sweetness. This gin needs to be in a cocktail designed to take advantage of its fragrant nature. I'll be working on it, and if you get any ideas please share! I think this is worth every penny of the $38 price tag even though I doubt I'll be getting a back-up bottle. It's a special release and it should be enjoyed the way flowers are enjoyed. In the words of W Somerset Maugham, "Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it." Enjoy this while we have it.

Tastes and smells like a rose garden - rose potpourri. Remarkable.

A curious nose with the juniper figuring prominently, but overlaid with a perfume of dried herbs and flowers. A somewhat peppery scent, but vaguely reminiscent of stepping into a floral shop. On the palate, the juniper is subtle, with surprising orange citrus notes leading into the herbal portfolio. Lightly sweet, with a definite flower petal sensibility. The effect is not overpowering, but rather the additional botanicals add an elegance not often found in gins. The finish is long with the flowery flavors staying close. A terrific new spirit that's ideal for creative craft cocktails.