Cornmuse
Barr Hill Gin
Distilled Gin — Vermont, USA
Reviewed
February 14, 2021 (edited February 26, 2021)
First taste neat from the neck pour of a freshly opened bottle. I'm on my way to making a nice gin sour to start my Sunday and it seemed like this might be a good match with fresh squeezed lemon juice, a bit of rich simple syrup and a couple dashes of Peychaud's. Along the way I figured I should give this a quick review. The sample was allowed to rest for several minutes before evaluation.
Wow! This is different and very, very unexpected!
The nose is delicate, floral, almost indescribable. I know this is made from honey, and I expect honey on the nose. But its really not there. I'm getting honeysuckle at night, just a whiff that's so delightful. There's a thread of juniper, some white pepper, hints of citrus that leans more towards orange and grapefruit than lemons or limes. Maybe there's a trace of lavender in there, too?
On the palate I'm shocked that this is sweet. It's not at all what I'd expect from a gin. I"m not sure this will play well in a martini, but my imagination is running all over the place with fruit juices, tonic and soda. There's a vegetal note that I KNOW but I just can't name it. Green something. Sweet. There's some fresh pine, and a blush of honeycomb. There's some spiciness, but this leans far more towards sweet than dry.
This COULD play well in a Negroni or a riff on one. And I imagine a gin & juice would be simply superb.
This is really quite nice and very approachable. It's not a classic London Dry in any way. And for the most part its not a "New Gin" that's mostly juniper but with other botanicals. This is rich in both taste and mouthfeel and drives more towards an interpretation of genever without the maltiness.
I like this a lot. I could easily drink this on ice. I'm going to enjoy seeing what kind of symbiosis it will forge with other ingredients.
Recommended for the adventurous cocktail cosmonaut
40.0
USD
per
Bottle
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