Príncipe de los Apóstoles Mate Gin

exotic, refreshing floral & citrus front with a minty finish

A trip to Buenos Aires prompts a search of the Distiller database for local spirits, of which there is just one entry for Argentina. But what a treat. Spying this on the shelf of a swish bar on my last night, I order a neat pour over ice and am immediately blown away by the orange flavors wafting out of the glass. Following the lead of @the_rev ‘s review, my colleagues and I sip this neat, which is not something we’d think of doing with gin ordinarily. Flavors of mint, cilantro and cucumber make the smooth distillate worthy of contemplation. At a mere $20 in its home market, it’s a steal that cries out to be smuggled home in the luggage.

The slowly coming spring has put me in a bit of a gin mood, so I decided to revisit my gin collection. This has finally made its way into the Distiller database, and it's about time as it is, hands down, my favorite gin (up to this point). Why? First, it has a very distinct personality all its own - instead of a traditional, juniper-forward London Dry style, the Prince of the Apostles marches to its own beat, driven by peppermint, grapefruit, and an appealingly restrained grassiness from the yerba mate. Secondly, I've had few gins that don't need to be in some sort of cocktail preparation to really shine - this is smooth and intriguing enough to work simply on the rocks, though it makes excellent Campari cocktails and Negronis. It doesn't play well with any tonic I've found, but with a bit of club soda and a grapefruit slice, it's a bracingly refreshing summer quaff. A must-try if you're interested in fine gin!