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Junipero Gin is 49.34 abv. / 98.6 proof and is made by Anchor Distilling Co. in San Francisco, the same folks who make the excellent Anchor Steam Beer and other fine brews. It has "more than a dozen" botanicals according to their website.The aroma is very light, almost not present at all until I pressed my nose deep into the snifter. Then I got a slight but sharp alcohol smell with just the faintest trace of juniper and some unknown spices. I kept on sniffing the gin for a few minutes, trying to discern what the components of the aroma were. I spun and circled my glass so the spirit would coat the inside, so more would evaporate and the aroma would increase, but to no avail.
Finally I kept the snifter in my hand until it started to warm up and finally the nose of the spirit started to come out. I could smell faint spices, and some sharp juniper notes. I put down the glass so that I could type and picked it up again a minute later and the glass had cooled down and the aroma faded. So I started warming it up all over again. I have never had such a fight to bring out a gins aroma before. This was becoming an epic struggle indeed.
Finally the sharply spicy nose came out again and I could enjoy the aroma. Besides spice and juniper there was a floral component and something similar to the salt and iodine smell of the sea breeze that was coursing through my windows. As more time went while I kept the glass warm in my hands, the aroma increased and developed more of the floral notes and became quite pleasing. Then surprisingly some cocoa notes appeared, Something I haven't noticed in a gin before. I guess I have become more attuned to cocoa lately, since I have been consulting to a local, fine chocolate maker the past few weeks; helping them develop new styles of couverture chocolates filled with spirits, liqueur, and wine.
The taste is sharp and tangy with a nice juniper presence and some spices. It gives you a solid hit up front and then most of the taste finishes fast. If you like juniper and sharp spice notes then you will like this gin. Personally I don't find that it does too much for me, and it has a bit too much of a sharpness and burn to it. That I don't care for it that much is interesting, because I really like these sort of flavors. I think it just isn't complex enough for me and the taste comes off as, basically, just one note. Now I am not saying this is a bad gin, because it's quite good, but it just doesn't overwhelm me like many others have. It doesn't even whelm me at all, to be frank. Now that the aroma has come out, I find I like that much better than the taste. I know Junipero has won several awards, and many people sing its praises, but I just don't get it.
The taste is sharp and tangy with a nice juniper presence and some spices. It gives you a solid hit up front and then most of the taste finishes fast. If you like juniper and sharp spice notes then you will like this gin. Personally I don't find that it does too much for me, and it has a bit too much of a sharpness and burn to it. That I don't care for it that much is interesting, because I really like these sort of flavors. I think it just isn't complex enough for me and the taste comes off as, basically, just one note. Now I am not saying this is a bad gin, because it's quite good, but it just doesn't overwhelm me like many others have. It doesn't even whelm me at all, to be frank. Now that the aroma has come out, I find I like that much better than the taste. I know Junipero has won several awards, and many people sing its praises, but I just don't get it.
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7-26-2007 @7:37AM bdw said... Sounds like a starter gin. A beginner can smother the flavor and heat with ice and pretend he's drinking vodka. If he decides he likes it, he can try the real thing. They do this with whisky, too. It's called Canadian V.O.
Brown vodka.
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7-26-2007 @1:09PM Peter said... I totally agree with your assessment. I went out of my way last month while traveling through the Bay area to get this gin, but I was more than underwhelmed by it. Too bad since Anchor Steam Beer is a phenomenal brew!
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