Nose: Citrus (lemon peel, orange peel, grapefruit, lemon myrtle). Some vanilla and grassy/spice notes in support. As it rests, the nose becomes sweeter but there is a singular lack of juniper. Palate: Citrus arrival - lemon oil with herbal notes. Grassy and fresh but there are some hot and sour flavours as well. The texture is creamy. Finish: Short. Citrus all the way into the aftertaste. For my 666th review I thought I should choose something diabolical and when a friend visited last week and brought a bottle of this, the decision was inescapable. Gin is an art form but like all art banality is always dangerously within reach of the artist. This gin, one of several made and marketed by Hobart restaurant/wine bar Institut Polaire, fails to succeed in several key respects The profile is dominated by the citrus presence and there is barely any juniper in evidence on either nose or palate. Although not unpleasant, it is inescapably more like lemon-infused vodka than gin. If you happen to relish citrus-dominated gin and prefer the juniper to be well hidden away then you'll probably enjoy this, but it is very much one-note and narrow of profile. Secondly, their maturation in "the finest new custom French oak casks" seems to have had remarkably little influence on the spirit other than imparting a pale yellow hue and a smear of vanilla. Although the citrus notes are prominent, there is a certain flat, hollow emptiness to the gin, and in comparison to the other barrel-conditioned gins I've tasted there is hardly any oak character at all. It's beyond subtle, it's just missing. Then there's the cost, which is AUS$150 for a 500ml bottle. That's almost twice as much as Monkey 47 and four times as much as Roku Gin, which presents a citrus influence in a far more sophisticated manner. Finally, although their website contains a lot of talk about glacial coldness, pure water and pristine bleakness it has precious little real information. Even the name is a mix of French and German that presumably translates as "polar south", but is actually just empty of meaning. And that sort of sums it up. It lacks the depth, breadth, complexity and unique character that are required in a really good gin, and it is bad value for money. It is meaningless, just like its name. "Inferior" : 68/100 (1.75 stars)