Fords Gin Officers' Reserve

Tasting this neat, along with a tipple of the standard Fords Gin which has been one of my favorites (5 star). Up-front admission: I quite like barrel aged gins. Love the Ford bottles and labeling right off the bat. Officers Reserve is pale pale yellow in the glass with good coating legs. The nose is almost indistinguishible from the standard Fords--strong clear juniper, a little citrus and some spice in the far back, but a little more floral vanilla oak and fruit. On the palate, juniper and oak tannins dominate, with a sweet undercurrent. No ethanol burst (not "hot"!) even at 109 proof. Very contained. Robust botanical spices and white pepper show up as the taste goes on. Oily coating mouthfeel. Citrus and mint notes start in the finish which is oaky, sweet, spicy, and long. Good tingle, dry, more softly sweet and savory than any citrus sourness. Well balanced with that oaky goodness that make barrel aged gins so special (yes special, I tend to like them). This is rounder and more complex by itself than the standard Ford Gin. Both are excellent in their own ways, especially for cocktails with the standard gin. This Officers Reserve barrel aged version I could see drinking straight. An ice cube cools down the ABV and softens the botanicals without killing that oaky spicy botanical profile. Search this one out, especially if you prefer whiskey--might just surprise you to drink an oaky Gin & Tonic (which I'm enjoying tonight). Wish it was more readily available around here, but... will enjoy it while I can and report on some cocktails as I go.

I finally had a chance to pick this up and I was able to taste it against the standard Ford's Gin and Tango hit the nail on the head. Something was lost when they upped the proof. Now with that said it is an outstanding gin that is smooth and well made but it is not as good as the regular offering. The nose is very similar to the standard even side by side I didn't notice much difference. With a Martini, Tango is right in that it makes an excellent drink I do a 3 to 1 most of the time and I had Dolin Dry in the fridge already and used that. The only change I made is that I put a few dashes of grapefruit bitters in the second one to try to bring out the citrus notes in each gin and it was very nice. Also, this gin just gets into the range of needing "your big boy drinking pants on" when you drink it. It is smooth and can sneak up on you. A Gin and Tonic and Gimlet are both nice but no better than the regular version. I will say this if I had tried this first it may have tasted better but the standard Ford's is a better gin and at a better price. In my area, this is about $5 more expensive and it is not a better product. Enjoy.

Burns the nose a bit. Hot and alcohol taste overpowers the botanicals. Only lightly juniper.