Sipsmith London Dry Gin

Rating: 8/23 N: Alcohol, faintly nutty (hazelnut, but stale), a tad spiced even, some more traditional gin flavors hidden underneath (including that note of juniper). P: Fairly sweet, but also nutty and... fishy? This isn't a briny, fresh fishiness: it's a sulfuric rotting one. Pretty subdued and less herbal, fruity, and punchy than most gins. I think there might be a stale coriander flavor causing that particular stale nut profile. This is certainly not the coriander that reminds me of chamomile when I drink Monkey 47. Side by side with Plymouth, I can verify that this is not your typical gin profile. There's plenty of spice and heat, but there's suprirsingly little in the way of botanicals standing out here. Side by side, I find Plymouth to be more complex and appealing. This is more kind of stale and off. F: Fishy and nutty, with some sweetness and staleness. A bit of a spicy bite still. Maybe hints of juniper. Possibly faint hints of baking spices. - Conclusion - I'm seriously regretting buying a bottle of this. What even is this? I'm not sure I would have guessed gin just tasting it. It's odd but fine - except for that appalling fishiness. Ick! If it weren't for that fishiness, this would strike me as a sort of interesting variation on Pacific Voyager crossed with Empress. Neither Voyager nor Empress have that fishiness though, so that's a fairly unique problem with this particular gin. And Frangelico doesn't have it either. For shame. There are still some good flavors here, so the fishiness doesn't bring this all of the way down to a 6, but it certainly keeps it from being higher than a 10. I'm going to give it an 8.

Don't quite agree with the flavor profile on this page since I don't find Sipsmith at all fruity (a quality I generally don't care for in gin.) But the high juniper and spice ratings are spot-on. I also agree that it is rich. Quite good as a martini, and equally good in a gin and tonic. Either way, enjoy it with someone special who appreciates a good London Dry.

Very good, intense flavour but nothing overpowering or unpleasant.

A clean gin with some complexity, a go-to for martinis and other more spirit forward cocktails.