J_F
Guest
haven't tried Buffalo Trace yet
the snobbery and BS surrounding scotch encouraged me to try bourbon
I find Bulleit just average, Woodford Reserve is real nice
Makers Mark in that unassuming bottle and price tag is a winner
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Post up your liquor/spirit talk ?
- Thread starter kwtoxman
- Start date
haven't tried Buffalo Trace yet
the snobbery and BS surrounding scotch encouraged me to try bourbon
I find Bulleit just average, Woodford Reserve is real nice
Makers Mark in that unassuming bottle and price tag is a winner
Jim Beam Black Label is another good value bourbon worth trying.
Surprised I hadn't heard of this before. Already checked, not showing on LCBO
nationalpost.com
Calgary-made whisky named world's best in international contest
This whisky beat out 1,252 other whiskies that were judged in this year's contest
nationalpost.com
Surprised I hadn't heard of this before. Already checked, not showing on LCBO
Calgary-made whisky named world's best in international contest
This whisky beat out 1,252 other whiskies that were judged in this year's contest
last time this happened it was a bit suspect.....
Yeah, the Northern Harvest (at least the first bottle I had, later weren't as good) wasn't the best whiskey in the world. I still liked it though.
there was some write up somewhere that poured a lot of scorn on that award
as for Alberta Premium...not had the cask strength but their other stuff is fine.....with a boatload of coke mixed in it,
I need to get back into this thread. Gin is an interesting spirit. Cool history from Genever through Old Tom to London Dry through to the "Contemporary" Gins. Some are great neat; others barely tolerable neat but work great on cocktails. I also find it interesting how certain gins have their own nuances and character from using their local botanicals. Ungava from Northern Quebec is well regarded worldwide and it certainly has its own specific flavor profile due to its tundra/Northern botanicals.
I finally snagged a bottle of Aviation yesterday. Not much in the way of scent or bouquet; but a wonderful Gin neat. Very nice to sip on in a glencairn. I have yet to try it with any tonic. Not a lot of juniper here; completely different from something like standard Tanqueray for sure.
I snagged a No 3. awhile ago and that might be my new favorite gin. The aroma is addictive. Wonderful.
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I have not posted my acquisitions or impressions in awhile. I have been posting on a couple of Gin Facebook pages and Tequila pages. At any rate here is the totality of my current Gin collection:
Like any other rabbit hole it will never end. However, I can report that my current wishlist (available at or through the LCBO) is:
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin
Mermaid Gin
Aberforth Bathtub Gin
Hendrick's Orbium
Boodles
Bulldog
Bombay Sapphire English Estate
Star Of Bombay
Bloom
Ginraw
Whitney Neill (standard gin)
These are the 3 gins I do not like of my collection. Standard Tanqueray is just way too Juniper dominent. It just takes over everything. The best gins seem to be "balanced". Gins like No. 3 have a nice amount of juniper but the other botanicals work in harmony. The standard Tanqueray is juniper/pine sort of scents and flavors and that is really all I get. No citrus, no spice, no herbal... Just juniper... Gah... The Malfy is a mess. The citrus is "off" and an unusual flavor. Then I get no sense of juniper or any other botanicals. It is almost like a flavored Vodka more than a Gin. The Dixons is a mess. A "muddy" indistinct citrus up front. Then some juniper. Then nothing. Trails to alcohol. They claim it is a gin for those who do not like gin. Want a nice gin with a nice smack of citrus? Try some Tanqueray Rangpur. A nice lime up front, then balanced botanicals. Love that stuff!
Contrast the 3 gins I am not a fan to my current favs. Monkey 47 is ridiculous. Just sip the darn stuff neat. Every sip I find something new. It is expensive at $53 for a 375ml; but in the Tequila world that would not be all that expensive. In the Gin world yes, this is very expensive but compared to Tequila, Scotch etc it would not be that nuts. The Rangpur is $33 a bottle (when not on sale) and it is my current "guilty pleasure". Love a G&T with this and a lime garnish. So wonderful... Tanqueray 10 works with everything. Nice neat, on the rocks, with some tonic, etc etc etc. If I were only allowed to have one Gin this would probably be it. The No 3. Wow... Only 6 botanicals. I could just sniff the bouquet non stop. May be my current fav. Hendrick's Summer Solstice is a pleasant surprise. My wife loves the regular Hendrick's so I thought I would take a flyer on the Summer Solstice. This one works great cucumber and orange as a garnish or even with orange on its own. My wife likes it even more than regular Hendrick's. Aytpical "Contemporary" Gin but well worth your while. Nikka Coffey Gin... Oh baby! It is available for in store pick up again. When I bought this I had to source it from Alberta as it was unobtainium here in Ontario. A Japanese Gin with lots of localized Japanese botanicals including a species of apple. The apple comes though late mid palate. What a Gin!
These are the Gins I am currently playing with and learning about. The Aviation is my latest find and all I have done with it so far is sip it neat out of a glencairn. It is kind of weird. The aroma is kind of indistinct and more or less alcohol. However, take a sip and its subtleties show themselves. My takeway is a licorice/anise sensation with some nice herbal/earthiness. I have not tried it with tonic or anything else yet. Juniper is very much in the background. Very different from a London Dry but a nice change or pace. The Roku is fun. Apparently Roku means 6 in Japan. There are 8 "typical" Gin botanicals and then there are 6 distinct Japanese botanicals which go with the 6 theme and each botanical is represented on each side of the hexadonal bottle. Even the label is made from a style of Japanese paper. A lot of care in the design etc. The surprise is that the gin is made by the Beam company who make Jim Beam. Citadelle is a work in progress for me. I just tried it with orange and cinnamon garnish and it worked really well. I have already made note of Ungava which is wonderful and unique. Same for Plymouth which technically is its own distinct style like London Dry (although it no longer has the legal protection it used to). The Botanist is also a top shelf gin that I need to get back to enjoying.
Again... Rabbit holes. There are a whack of gins we do not presently get in Ontario. Ford's Gin and Beefeater 24 are two of them. Sometime this fall I will make another out of province order and snag these plus some tequilas I have been wanting to snag.
Like any other rabbit hole it will never end. However, I can report that my current wishlist (available at or through the LCBO) is:
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin
Mermaid Gin
Aberforth Bathtub Gin
Hendrick's Orbium
Boodles
Bulldog
Bombay Sapphire English Estate
Star Of Bombay
Bloom
Ginraw
Whitney Neill (standard gin)
These are the 3 gins I do not like of my collection. Standard Tanqueray is just way too Juniper dominent. It just takes over everything. The best gins seem to be "balanced". Gins like No. 3 have a nice amount of juniper but the other botanicals work in harmony. The standard Tanqueray is juniper/pine sort of scents and flavors and that is really all I get. No citrus, no spice, no herbal... Just juniper... Gah... The Malfy is a mess. The citrus is "off" and an unusual flavor. Then I get no sense of juniper or any other botanicals. It is almost like a flavored Vodka more than a Gin. The Dixons is a mess. A "muddy" indistinct citrus up front. Then some juniper. Then nothing. Trails to alcohol. They claim it is a gin for those who do not like gin. Want a nice gin with a nice smack of citrus? Try some Tanqueray Rangpur. A nice lime up front, then balanced botanicals. Love that stuff!
Contrast the 3 gins I am not a fan to my current favs. Monkey 47 is ridiculous. Just sip the darn stuff neat. Every sip I find something new. It is expensive at $53 for a 375ml; but in the Tequila world that would not be all that expensive. In the Gin world yes, this is very expensive but compared to Tequila, Scotch etc it would not be that nuts. The Rangpur is $33 a bottle (when not on sale) and it is my current "guilty pleasure". Love a G&T with this and a lime garnish. So wonderful... Tanqueray 10 works with everything. Nice neat, on the rocks, with some tonic, etc etc etc. If I were only allowed to have one Gin this would probably be it. The No 3. Wow... Only 6 botanicals. I could just sniff the bouquet non stop. May be my current fav. Hendrick's Summer Solstice is a pleasant surprise. My wife loves the regular Hendrick's so I thought I would take a flyer on the Summer Solstice. This one works great cucumber and orange as a garnish or even with orange on its own. My wife likes it even more than regular Hendrick's. Aytpical "Contemporary" Gin but well worth your while. Nikka Coffey Gin... Oh baby! It is available for in store pick up again. When I bought this I had to source it from Alberta as it was unobtainium here in Ontario. A Japanese Gin with lots of localized Japanese botanicals including a species of apple. The apple comes though late mid palate. What a Gin!
These are the Gins I am currently playing with and learning about. The Aviation is my latest find and all I have done with it so far is sip it neat out of a glencairn. It is kind of weird. The aroma is kind of indistinct and more or less alcohol. However, take a sip and its subtleties show themselves. My takeway is a licorice/anise sensation with some nice herbal/earthiness. I have not tried it with tonic or anything else yet. Juniper is very much in the background. Very different from a London Dry but a nice change or pace. The Roku is fun. Apparently Roku means 6 in Japan. There are 8 "typical" Gin botanicals and then there are 6 distinct Japanese botanicals which go with the 6 theme and each botanical is represented on each side of the hexadonal bottle. Even the label is made from a style of Japanese paper. A lot of care in the design etc. The surprise is that the gin is made by the Beam company who make Jim Beam. Citadelle is a work in progress for me. I just tried it with orange and cinnamon garnish and it worked really well. I have already made note of Ungava which is wonderful and unique. Same for Plymouth which technically is its own distinct style like London Dry (although it no longer has the legal protection it used to). The Botanist is also a top shelf gin that I need to get back to enjoying.
Again... Rabbit holes. There are a whack of gins we do not presently get in Ontario. Ford's Gin and Beefeater 24 are two of them. Sometime this fall I will make another out of province order and snag these plus some tequilas I have been wanting to snag.
Should work as a weed killer if nothing else.
I meant to post this the other night. Hard to be a gin nut and not play with different tonics. While there are a handful of Gins I have which I really enjoy neat; most get mixed with either a little bit of tonic or in more full blown G&Ts with garnishes.
We do not have the selection that they do in the U.K. However, we do have some decent options and more than just Fever Tree. Regular plain 'ol Sweppes in the small tins do a decent job. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the Canada Dry Premium mixers I have tried. At any rate the current state of my mixers:
We do not have the selection that they do in the U.K. However, we do have some decent options and more than just Fever Tree. Regular plain 'ol Sweppes in the small tins do a decent job. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the Canada Dry Premium mixers I have tried. At any rate the current state of my mixers:
It has been awhile since I posted on this thread.
These are the most recent Gins I have added to the collection:
Gordons? Well, I was curious as to just how bad it was. Certainly nothing to write home about but not vile. I did not do this at least:
Boodles is great. Crazy how amazing it is for the price.
Finally tried the Aberforth's Bathtub Gin tonight. I tried it neat, 50/50 with tonic, and full glown G&T. Love it.
Then later this evening I tried the Whitley Neill. Not sure if it is top tier to me but if it is not I think it is at the upper end of Mid Tier. I think some more experience with the Gin will help me figure it out better. Some I love right away like Roku, Aberforth's, Tanqueray 10 etc. Others grow on me once I have had it a few times. Gins like that include Monkey 47, No 3., The Botanist etc.
I have yet to crack into Dillons 22 Unfiltered or Romeo's yet.
These are the most recent Gins I have added to the collection:
Gordons? Well, I was curious as to just how bad it was. Certainly nothing to write home about but not vile. I did not do this at least:
Boodles is great. Crazy how amazing it is for the price.
Finally tried the Aberforth's Bathtub Gin tonight. I tried it neat, 50/50 with tonic, and full glown G&T. Love it.
Then later this evening I tried the Whitley Neill. Not sure if it is top tier to me but if it is not I think it is at the upper end of Mid Tier. I think some more experience with the Gin will help me figure it out better. Some I love right away like Roku, Aberforth's, Tanqueray 10 etc. Others grow on me once I have had it a few times. Gins like that include Monkey 47, No 3., The Botanist etc.
I have yet to crack into Dillons 22 Unfiltered or Romeo's yet.
Tonight my wife and I had a nice dip in the Softub. Then some Netflix marathon while I had a nice Tanqueray 10 and then Drumshambo Gunpower Gin. I typically have a bit neat, then 1 to 1 ratio of Gin to tonic. Then a G&T with ice and garnish.
Tanqueray 10 is truly a wonderful Gin. If you like Gin I don't see how this Gin is not in your cabinet. Good neat or with tonic and very versatile. If I had a bar I would probably have Beefeater as a well Gin and Tanqueray 10 as the upgrade. Of course I am a loonie and there is no way I can only have 2 gins. Heck, I have a fair number of Rums in the house and I am not even a rum guy!
Drumshambo is an interesting one. A bit too much heat neat and I need a bit more tonic with this one to get the flavors right. In a full blown G&T with garnish it is an incredible experience. Still figuring this one out. Top tier Gin for sure... Apparently these guys make a good whiskey as well?
Tanqueray 10 is truly a wonderful Gin. If you like Gin I don't see how this Gin is not in your cabinet. Good neat or with tonic and very versatile. If I had a bar I would probably have Beefeater as a well Gin and Tanqueray 10 as the upgrade. Of course I am a loonie and there is no way I can only have 2 gins. Heck, I have a fair number of Rums in the house and I am not even a rum guy!
Drumshambo is an interesting one. A bit too much heat neat and I need a bit more tonic with this one to get the flavors right. In a full blown G&T with garnish it is an incredible experience. Still figuring this one out. Top tier Gin for sure... Apparently these guys make a good whiskey as well?
Tis the season....love this stuff!
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