Rating: 16/23
I agonized over the particular flavors in this last time and was pretty proud of how many I identified. I feel like I've been working hard at tastings right now though and I just want to taste something solid. I'll rate it and even take notes if I have to, but give me a break, please.
N: Citrusy (lemon) and floral with a little bit of a bitterness that's kind of herbaceous with a dry, lightly woody flavor. I get a faint punch from the alcohol, but it blends nicely with the citrus. There are some kind of funky edges to the notes I detect here (e.g. I'm probably smelling yuzu, not lemon), but nothing too extreme.
P: This is light with a lemony tartness backed by a pith and lemon oil numbingness, but there's also some floral sweetness and something faintly rich and ever so slightly savory (without tasting meaty like poorly produced alcohol). I get a faint prickliness that's kind of appealing and avoids coming across as harsh and reveals a bit of the alcohol. It's probably for the best that they stuck with a low proof for this one. There are some flavors in the herbal realm that have faint notes of dirt bordering on wood. That must be the tea coming through.
I know vaguely what flavorings are in here now, so I'm not trying as hard to identify each of them. The complexity is solid here without being muddled, which is a great success. There's a lot of lemon, but I like it and don't find it to be overwhelming. The palate stays super far away from vegetal notes. While I appreciate that it doesn't get into dangerous territory there, it seems like it stays too safe, so some of the richness, fullness, and complexity that it could have are absent.
F: Some bitter prickliness from the lemon oil remains along with some faintly floral herbal notes and a mellow green tea backing.
- Conclusion -
This is a very well executed, clean gin. It could use some more boldness and complexity somewhere, but it really nails the flavors that it tries to deliver and I can enjoy it for either mixing or sipping. It's unique, but not so out there that it's challenging. Suntory really nailed it on this one, particularly with a price point below $30.
I'm looking at a 16 to 17 here. I was about to give it a 17, but then I switched back to Ford's (which I just gave a 15) briefly and found that I didn't observe a big gap in quality between them. Considering that, I'm going with a 16.
25.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@MezcalMagic I appreciated the simple nature of it too. I'll take a few well executed flavors over muddled complexity any day.
Excellent review! Our tasting notes are quite similar. Maybe it's because I'm a big fan of tea but I loved how it was simple and understated. I appreciated the lack of complexity while still remaining unique. Good stuff!
Ugh, I'm going to be hoping that doesn't happen @BeppeCovfefe , but it seems like to good of a value with too approachable of a character to continue to go for $25.
"This is a very well executed, clean gin." - exactly! and typical in my experience for Suntori, Expecting this gin to see a price hike soon, no way this Japanese "secret weapon" can be kept under the radar for long.