FEW is an American Style Gin. If you have followed all my Gin research by now, you probably realize that Genever was the original drink from the Belgium/Netherlands area. Then came Tom Gin and finally London Dry style (which is not aged in a barrel at all). American style Gin is a very recent phenomenon and they tend to be (not always) less junipery and a little more citrus forward.

That said, this Gin is very different. To begin with, there is a distinct wood-y nose. Which is surprising for a gin not aged in a barrel till you realize that the base of this gin is not the traditional neutral grain but more akin to white whiskey. The warm toasty malty nose comes from the base of barley, corn and whiskey used.

In terms of the botanicals, other than the standard juniper, citrus, orange peels, lemon and cassia, you have the interesting twists of vanilla (Tahitian vanilla), grains of paradise and home grown hops.

If you are into brown alcohols and want to try gins, you will like this. If you are not too much into barrel aged alcohols, do not take this straight up or with tonic water. Your best way to try this might be with something that compensates for the woody-ness — perhaps a cocktail like Negroni or a Martini.

FEW is made in an interesting place – Evanston – about 30 miles north of Chicago and very close to the Northwestern University. The real interesting part of this area is that this was one of the areas that inspired the Prohibition area!! The distillery is rather new – only about 6 years in existence.

I would also put this gin on the higher end of price – although nothing like Monkey 47.

This is probably the last cocktail with the Esme gin for me. Aviation is, of course, gin, maraschino liqueur and lemon juice. The original Aviation is supposed to include creme de violette to give the distinctive light purple color. Commonly garnished either with a lemon peel or a brandied cherry.

Jasmine was the first cocktail I experimented with the Esme gin. The floral essence of the gin played rather well with the edgy bitterness of a Campari. To soften the Campari, I went with some Triple Sec and then some lemon juice to retain the citrus-forward gin’s character.

The nose was mostly carried by the gin and the Triple sec – junipers, orange and rose petals were the most prominent. The palette started with the citrusy taste but quickly the soft bitterness of Campari took over and settled down. The finish was mostly the junipers, the lemons and the rose petals.

First, let me admit that I have no idea where is the distillery that makes this gin. I know it is in France. And I have written multiple times to the distributor that imports it from France. But they had steadfastly, refused to respond.

When you open the bottle – which is pretty cute in shape – the first thing that hits your nose are the citrus notes. This is certainly what would be called a citrus-forward gin. I tried this with some Indian Tonic Water. The nose sure was citrusy and juniper. The palette initially is that of juniper but soon in the finish you sense something even sweeter – almost floral. And that is when you realize that you are drinking one of the rare gins that uses rose petals during the distilling process!

The base of the gin is neutral spirit made from indigenous French wheat. The infusion includes juniper, citrus, orange blossom, cucumbers and rose petals,

Try it some time. You will not be disappointed. Stick with a martini or a gin and tonic (or even gin on the rocks) to truly get a sense of the gin. The rose petal aroma can get very quickly overcome by the ingredients of most cocktails.