Nose - juniper, spruce, Christmas tree, pine needle, lemon zest, citrus oil, black pepper, decomposing leaf, clove, mint tea, dry grass, orange, mild to moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - herbal and floral tea, juniper, violet, sweet, spruce, powdered sugar, marshmallow, vanilla cream, tree bark, lemon and grapefruit zest, earthy mint, clove, Christmas tree, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long and oily with Christmas tree, mint tea, and deep citrus flavors.
So this is in the top 10 of all spirits on Distiller. With hype like that, you’re bound to be disappointed. I think this is very tasty, but not outstanding. I’m not qualified to identify most of the things I smell and taste, but I understand why others find it to be so complex.
The strongest note I perceive across the entire experience is Christmas tree. The piney, sprucey, foresty tones are very dominant. There’s a nice minty, herbal tea note and an even nicer powdered sugar, marshmallow, cream vibe happening as well. I can see this one growing on me as I spend more time with it, but at the moment I would rank it alongside the Gunpowder gin. Luckily, I have a full liter of the stuff, so I’ll get many more chances to ruminate on it.
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PS thanks for the history @cascode . I'd assumed that this and Hendricks were both something like 15 years old.
Ha, you'd be better off acquiring a taste for something cheaper @ctbeck11 :) I actually just picked up a new liter too though and it's not so expensive that I can't use it for a nice gin-heavy cocktail. I'm right with you and @cascode that this is certainly not a 99, but it's still the best gin I've tried by a decent margin. IIRC I gave it an 18 or a 19. I definitely need to get a sample of gunpowder and hopefully SBS that with this and the sample of Empress you sent me when I'm back home :)
@ctbeck11 Details are a little vague but I think this first came out in 2008, and the US release may not have been until a couple of years after that.
@cascode Ha, I appreciate the old fart wisdom! I had no idea Monkey’s been around since the 90s. For some reason, I pegged it as something new on the market. I’m thinking the strong juniper note is the main thing dissuading me from giving it a higher score. Definitely an acquired taste, that I’m trying my darnedest to acquire :)
Monkey is a great gin, but I agree it is over-hyped and it has an herbal/juniper profile which you either like or not. The average user rating here is just over 4.6 which I think is appropriate, a fraction more than I'd give, but I don't agree with the official 99/100 rating. [start "old fart" mode] I remember back in 1980s way before the gin craze took off, the choices were Gordons, Beefearter and Vickers - that was it, at least out here. Then in the late 90s Hendricks came out and surprised everyone with its more subtle profile, and then a few years later Monkey 47 showed up and blew our minds. It could be hard to find as it sold out so quickly and I know one guy who bought it literally by the case whenever possible. It was the one outstanding turbo-charged gin available for a while and it gathered a well-deserved cult following. Soon after, other boutique gins started to appear and by the mid 2010s the market had exploded with many, many great gins that are, IMHO, the equal of Monkey. None of that diminishes its excellence or importance and although it's not my go-to gin I still occasionally buy a bottle. [/ "old fart" mode]
@cascode I’m thinking ‘greatest gin of all time.’ That seems to be the consensus for many around these parts. I did enjoy it, and will absolutely revisit in the future and see if my perception improves.
@WhiskyWitch "GGOAT"?
The "GGOAT", IMO