Seagram's Extra Dry Gin

I was fully expecting to loathe this gin. Back in my college days I viewed it with utter contempt as a harsh vodka with next to no gin characteristics. But I'll readily admit that initial assessment was incorrect though I can understand why I felt that way. See, Seagram's biggest flaw is how watery and light on the tongue it is. It doesn't have any particularly robust flavors so the juniper and alcohol burn stand out. Add in someone inexperienced with gins and drinking from a red solo cup and this would indeed taste as a harsh vodka. But as one grows they become more discerning. Seagram's doesn't have a lot to offer but by the same token, for it's price it's actually a worthy budget gin. The smell is primarily of orange peel followed by a light, tame juniper. Further in the background is coriander and root spices are just barely perceptible if you know where to look. On the tongue this almost reminds me of an orange peel jelly treat. It's surprisingly sweet in it's citrusy bitterness and the juniper is present enough to make this feel like a proper gin. The finish is spicy and heat forward giving it a nice burn to finish with. For a gin it's nothing harsh--if anything it may be more on the forgiving side. The watery nature of the gin also almost makes it feel like drinking a spice laden orange tea. While I wouldn't mind drinking Seagram's by itself the sweetness and citrus dominated palate are just begging for this to be mixed with any and all juices. Snoop Dogg was into something with his love of Seagram's. I gave it an extra half a star because for the price point this is quite tasty.

How lucky am I that one of my favorite gins is so darn cheap! I used to bartend, could have any gin I wanted and I like Seagrams. Give it a try

Nose - juniper, black pepper, lemon and lime zest, vanilla, bitter anise, celery, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - orange zest, juniper, ginger, black pepper, vanilla, floral notes, caramel, lemon, lime, sweet licorice, subtle oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing fast with juniper, cloying creamy vanilla and caramel, and citrus flavors. I don’t like this very much. On the nose, I don’t think I could distinguish it from Beefeater and Tanqueray. It has a juniper forward palate, but there’s a cloying caramel vanilla note that is really off putting. I imagine this would disappear in a cocktail, but it’s a bit sickening when you taste it neat. Overall, this is probably the worst gin I’ve tasted as part of my series this week, but not too far behind Bombay Sapphire for me.