Hofland London Dry Gin

Average gin, a little too harsh alcohol flavor, not enough juniper

Nose - juniper, coriander, lemon and lime zest, black pepper, anise, ginger, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - juniper, sweet vanilla, coriander, lemon and orange zest, black pepper, ginger, anise, mint, moderate ethanol burn, finishing fast with juniper, citrus, and anise flavors. There’s not much to say about this gin. It’s a very middle of the road London Dry. The only thing worth noting as a departure from the standard is the vanilla flavor. It adds some sweetness without becoming cloying like the Seagram’s does. For that reason, I think it’s reasonably serviceable and a step up from the Seagram’s, but not quite as good as Tanqueray and Beefeater.

The nose is fairly bland. Alcohol, something a hair savory, some juniper. The palate is decent enough, starting off viscous with some sweet richness, then bringing out some spicy juniper and drying out. It's boring, but serviceable. Unlike Starr Blu, this definitely at least tastes like gin, though it has a bit too much of an alcohol flavor and not enough complexity. It's passable enough and certainly works for mixing. I'm bumping its score up. I might be eating it a tad high at 11, but it's surprisingly OK aside from the alcohol and lightness.

A floral, citrus dish soap nose. Well, maybe this is actually hand soap. There's some alcohol on the nose and it does smell dry. The palate is similarly dry with some of that dish soap flavor coming through but also some juniper. There are some suggestions of other botanicals they I'm having trouble picking out out this time and some peppery harshness. It's not that great, but I think it could pass in a cocktail. The dish soap flavor is a problem, but otherwise this is a serviceable bottom-shelf gin. It seems to have more complexity (and hand soap flavor) than Dover, but less richness. I'll have to compare them again to determine which is better, but for now I'd say their qualities are similar.