Ginvent

I was asked to blog my advent calendar, so here goes.

I'm starting a bit late, because no-one told me about ginvent calendars until Wednesday, and it arrived just after I left work yesterday, so I missed an extra day. I'll start with today's gin, and then work backwards until I start to sing the little song about a goblin.

I shall pour each gin over ice, and have a sip neat, (possibly more if it turns out to be a good sipping gin!), then add 2/3 can of Schweppes tonic to the rest. From tomorrow I might also add a wedge of lime if I think the gin will benefit from it, but I don't have any in the flat tonight.

6th December is Origin, Arezzo, Italy. I couldn't smell anything but juniper, although there was quite a lot of aniseed on the palate. That became a lot less dominant once the tonic was added, but it's probably still not a gin I'd recommend to robert_jones. It was only after tasting it that I realised that it didn't have any botanicals other than juniper, so that would be why it didn't smell of any.

5th of December is Warner Edwards Harrington Dry Gin. It's a lot more interesting on the nose than the Origin, quite spicy. To sip the dominant flavours are orange and cinnamon and clove - this is about a Christmassy a gin as I can imagine. With tonic the orange becomes less noticeable, but the spices are still loud and clear. I think this would make a wonderful Ramos Gin Fizz.

4th of December is Hayman's Old Tom, which is the first so far that I'd heard of, although whilst I've tried a few other Hayman's offerings, this one is new to my lips. The nose is somewhere between the last two in subtlety. Juniper is the only scent I can identify, but I can definitely tell that other are there, if not what they are. To sit it's a bit herbal, and quite sweet, but not enough to be noticeable with tonic. It's not especially exciting, but perfectly pleasant.

3rd of December is, rather appropriately No.3 Gin, by Berry Bros & Rudd. I'm inclined to think they should stick to wine, which they do ever so well. There's nothing wrong with the gin - there's a bit of citrus, and plenty of juniper - but it's not terribly exciting

2nd of December is Darnley's View Gin. It didn't smell particularly interesting, although I did wonder if that's because I'm getting a bit too close to goblin songs, especially as I had a glass of wine between these two, whilst I waited for the 2nd tray of ice to finish freezing. To sip though it's a lot more interesting - vanilla and angelica were the dominant flavours, and they stand up nicely to the tonic.

1st of December (haha, I made it, and there has been no singing at all) is Gin Mare. This is the first one that I've actually drunk before, although I didn't have a particularly clear memory of it. It's quite fruity, but more citrus peel than the fruit itself - it doesn't have much sharpness. There's also quite a strong floral note, and something a bit sherbety, which comes out particularly when the tonic is added.

Of today's six I liked the Warner Edwards best, but would also be very happy to drink the Darnley's view and the Mare again.