St. George Dry Rye Gin

As a lover of rye whiskey, this is exciting. I've been so focused on the botanicals in gins that I've completely disregarded the base spirit, and what it had to be or could be. I expect this is to be a potent, spicy gin, so I'm hoping the simple botanical use is enough to come through a powerful body. The scent on this is easily black pepper, so much of it, like the legal amount needed to put in a proper sausage gravy to get it to turn gray. It's not just black pepper, though, but like the pepper was freshly ground on citrus peels, flower petals, and some tea leaves; very simple botanical choices, but that's good considering these are not the star here. This is room temperature at the moment, so to say the initial taste is hot would be unfair... For now. Tea and juniper are the first notes I get, followed by a floral body, with citrus coming much later, like half a minute past the finish. I couldn't help but compare this with a rye whiskey profile since I don't have any other gin to go off of, so I was expecting fresh cut grass, mint, and just a bit of wine-y malt. However, the botanicals actually keep the base spirit from getting too spicy, and allow only a fraction of the grass and rye spice through that's enough to taste, but not to experience or feel. That last paragraph took long enough to type that I was able to breathe some air in past a recent sip, and after a few breaths, a fresh rye bread taste manifested almost immediately. The botanicals had faded since then, so this was just that bread-y, minty taste, which I didn't think I would get. This leads me to believe that this gin could be really unlocked and discovered with very minimal or simple changes, like on ice, or with a lemon peel, but the uniqueness wouldn't hold up in a cocktail, unless it was seriously showcasing the gin itself. I take it the barrel aged version of this that Distiller mentioned is not ready yet, since I didn't see it in stores, but that would definitely be something I would snag to see how these flavors transform, despite absolutely loathing barrel aged gins in general. That, or a navy strength version would certainly kick ass, in more ways than one.

Nose: An herbal, cereal and slightly cardboard/plywood aroma. Aromatic in a dry, earthy manner and curiously unlike gin. A little citrus and juniper but it's the spicy cereal aromas that dominate. Over time some green, leafy herbal notes emerge. Palate: Peppery and spicy, with coriander, cumin, fenugreek and other seed-spices dominating the profile. Finish: Medium/long: Spicy and crisp. The nose is very reminiscent of new-make whiskey. Is this even a real gin? I can hardly make out juniper at all. Nevertheless it is pleasant, and St. George are to be congratulated for their experimentation. I quite like it, but it's certainly not your average gin. There is a very slight resemblance to genever, too, but it is too close to a London dry style or white dog to be comparable. Probably because it has a rye-based character instead of the barley spirit that is the base for genever. With tonic it is like some cask-aged gins I've tried (it reminds me in particular of Manly Spirits Oak Cask Aged Gin) and some more sweetness emerges, along with a hint of juniper. It's an acquired taste in a G&T, but if you do like it I'd recommend trying some cask-matured gin - you may have latched onto something that really works for your palate. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)

This is a very interesting gin. This kicks of with mineral notes and some moderate spice before the floral notes take over and dominate. Corriander plays well with the flowers and minerals. There is the faintest hint if caraway as well. These flavors neatly avoid the rancid bread flavor that plagues grappa and other drinks that attempt this balance. Toward the finish, some rich fruit comes in, backed by some botanicals, including some subtle juniper. It is on the rich and sweet side for gin, which is surprising given that it is a rye. If these flavors were prominent in a whiskey, I would be upset, but in this drink they are quite welcome. It's really a matter of framing the drink and the context in which it is consumed. The variety and balance are great. It reminds me a bit of Espolon Blanco in how it subverts it's genre and turns out well despite some questionable elements. It has more subtlety than Beefeater and its flavors are more suitable together. It's definitely quite a bit like grappa, but it's also better. Complaining about grappa at the beginning and middle is fine, but the sweet and rich finish holds its own.

The smell has a strangely "blurred" quality for me, like there are many components but they're all blended into one "flat" aroma. It's fruity in a generic way that reminds me of some type of bubblegum I had when I was a kid --- a sort of grape/berry/fruit punch kind of thing. The taste is likewise fruity but has a sharper citrus note and becomes peppery as it goes into the finish. This is certainly solid but not super complex and bit blunt for my tastes in gin. I'm usually looking for gins that I'll like drinking neat. This isn't bad neat but is probably better suited to cocktails, at least for me. I got this as part of the three-pack of small bottles of each of three St. George gins, and of the three this is the one I liked least (although I still liked it).

This otherwise fine gin has the misfortune of coming in a sampling pack with the Botanivore and Terroir gins from the same distillery. If these three gins were the Corleone brothers, this one would sadly be Fredo. Maybe it’s just misunderstood, or suffers by comparison, but the pleasantly dill and spice notes that come through from the rye distillate just aren’t enough to give this one as defined a personality. Plus, there’s a bit of an alcoholic harshness here that’s not present with its other gin siblings in the pack. I don’t dislike it, but I’m not going to be rushing out to buy a full size bottle, either.

I will admit I was skeptical going in, but it does actually make a solid case for a gin/rye whiskey hybrid. How interesting! If you close your eyes it tastes like a peppery young rye whiskey. I'm not sure it's compelling enough to buy more than the 200ml format I got, but I'll keep my eye out for the "Reposado" version.