You probably would not expect much from distilleries in Texas. Although there is that Tito’s vodka from Austin that is definitely top notch. This gin, while not in the same class as a Hendricks or Malfy has enough uniqueness that makes it worth a try. First, I tried it thinking it would be one more of the so-called “hand crafted”, “artisan”, “small batch” etc etc gins. All the adjectives used to try to position the uniqueness. I expected it to be very juniper forward and not expect much more.

Quite to the contrary, the juniper is subdued. Unlike some other reviewers, I would not call this as a traditional gin. This is more in the American Style gin to me.

Now comes the frustrating part… there is a overwhelming aroma of something in this gin – which is very pronounced when you exhale – but for the life of me, I cannot pinpoint what it is. I do not think it is any of the berries (like the açaí berry in it) – it is definitely a mix of citrus (probe the Sicilian bergamot – something that I have never had in my life) and something else – more flowery. Kind of like lavender but less pronounced.

I had Sharmila try it – who is far better in pin pointing the components than me, but between us, we are still struggling. If any one of you can nail it, please let me know.

You definitely want to have the first one neat. Take in small sips and let it sit on your tongue for a while. The nose has that flowery aroma that I talked about. But as you let the gin sit on your tongue and breathe in and out for the first time, it breaks down into a very rich mixture of that citrusy-flowery smell. You can quickly smell the juniper right after it. On the palate, it has a buttery feel to it. The length is very long and sweet.

I am still not sure how this will go in a cocktail or even with tonic water. I have a feeling the character of the gin might get totally killed with some of the stronger components. I will try it and see how it comes out.

From the distiller’s notes, the following are some of the botanicals – but not the complete list, they insist:  juniper berries, cardamom, coriander, Sicilian bergamot, lemon, lime, orange, açai berry, and cucumber.

It is probably still not proper season to make Gimlets – but what the heck?, the sun has been out for a few hours here in Milton. This very old cocktail (some of the early mentions of this drink goes back to 1920s) has somewhat of a contested view on the origin of the name. The more common one was that this was named after Surgeon General Sir Thomas Gimlette who is said to have added lime cordial to the daily ration of gin for the British shipmen to fight scurvy that used to afflict many a sailor on long voyages.

Greenhat Gin, fresh lime juice and some simple syrup.

This gin bottle came to me as a gift from a friend – Julio – who lives in the DC area. Unsurprisingly, he chose a local distillery. I finally got around to opening the bottle last night for Sharmila and myself.

The name Greenhat is pretty interesting. Once you read the history, it is even more intriguing. I researched their website to understand the reason behind the naming. Apparently, there was a gentleman – George Cassiday – who had come back from the first world war and then built a business to supply alcohol to the House representatives in DC. In case you have not figured this out – this was during Prohibition and it was these same representatives who had voted Prohibition into a law!! The story goes that he was eventually caught by the Feds inside the govt premises where he had set up his shop. But he simply moved his “shop” to where the Senators were and continued with his business. He was nabbed later again by the Feds but never did any time after 10 years of a very profitable business! Eventually, he wrote a tell-all expose in Washington Post.

Well, this gentleman was called the “Man in a Green Hat” – since his distinguishing characteristic was that he always wore a green hat (fedora style)!

That was the inspiration behind the name of the gin. A gin made in the New Columbia Distillery started by a brother and sister and their respective spouses in the DC area.

In terms of content, the base alcohol is made from winter wheat. The botanicals – other than the standard juniper are pine, fennel seeds, coriander, ruby red grapefruit, sage, pepper and cassia. The distillation process is done in a copper still (remember the picture I had posted from a visit to the distillery in Oregon which bills itself as the first woman-run distillery? – the still look almost identical). The infusion happens through the vapor process which is reasonably standard.

In terms of the gin itself, the nose is pretty strong in pine and juniper. Some of the reviews talk about strong citrus in the nose but frankly, I could get only a faint hint. Either I have not figured out how to discern citruses more strongly or my nose reacts to pine and juniper more strongly than for others. On that note, one reviewer suggested that the citrus is so much stronger than the juniper, it cannot be called a London Dry. I felt after the first glass that the pine and juniper were the stronger components and therefore this was far more London Dry than American Style.

The palate was a little more biting (in the sense of sharp spiciness) than I was expecting and the finish was pretty middle of the road with nothing other than the remaining traces of juniper making it any the more unique.

While this would go quite well in a few cocktails, I liked it enough that I would suggest having it neat or with a good tonic.