Lamb Martini

I finally had a chance to try Bluecoat American Dry gin, distilled in Philadelphia. Imbibe gave it 5 stars in their gin tasting, but it’s only available in a few states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Viriginia, that I know of). The distillery states that it contains organic juniper, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel, and a third “secret” citrus peel. I like this minimalist approach better than the “we have 8,356 botanicals in OUR gin” approach, since the flavors come out very clean and recognizable. I found this to be really tasty and really smooth, one of the few I’d care to drink straight.

Prichard’s Rum, distilled in Kelso, Tennessee, described as “an accurate recreation of the ancient rum of an older time”, made from Louisiana grade “A” fancy molasses and aged in 15-gallon charred white oak casks. The owner describes that the water from a spring in Kelso is key.

I found this to be well-balanced, tasty straight, with nice round aged flavors, and not to strong on the vanilla like some.

The other product in the photo is Sweet Lucy Bourbon Liqueur, a bourbon/apricot/orange in the style of Southern Comfort. I didn’t try this.

With all of the hype around Aviation and the now ubiquitous Aviation Aviation cocktail, I didn’t know what to expect. Simply, this is one of the finest spirits I’ve ever had. It’s a Dutch genever style, so the flavors are more on the spice side rather than the citrus or juniper side. Included on the bill are juniper, Indian sassparilla, coriander, lavender, anise, cardamom, and orange peel. The flavors are crisp and well-balanced, and fade in and out of the palate.

Distilled on Nantucket. I thought the rum tasted nearly the same as Appleton V/X, but at $28/bottle is quite a bit more. Nantucket and Jamaica may both be islands, but the production costs on each are way different. The gin was nice, but not particularly notable.