"PolandSpringGin" news and stories

Poland Spring London Dry Gin is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is prepared and bottled in Maine, just like the water. I saw a big 1.75 liter bottle of this on a store shelf and came to an abrupt halt. Poland Spring Gin? I just had to grab a bottle and try it out. But somehow the unopened bottle got lost over time, in the back of a bottom shelf of my spirits library (I have several six foot high bookshelves loaded with hundreds of bottles of various spirits and liqueurs, next to the even more books in my library/office.) So today I was going through my bottles that are waiting to be reviewed and saw the jug sitting there in hiding. I pulled it out and started to do some research.

I read in an article that Poland Spring water was first bottled back over 150 years ago and was something of a trend setter. Selling bottled water was almost unheard of, and there were very few companies doing so. After Prohibition ended, Lawrence & Co. of Boston made Poland Spring Gin, Sloe Gin, and Whiskey using Poland Spring water and bottled them in decorative bottles called Moses bottles.

Nowadays I don't know if Poland Spring Gin actually uses Poland Spring water or not. There was absolutely no information of any kind on the label. As a matter of fact, in general I could find very little current information, except that it seems that it may be possibly made at the White Rock Distilleries in Lewiston, Maine. Also the word is that many folks out there consider it a step above rubbing alcohol and claim it gives killer hangovers. I have only seen it sold in 1.75 liter jugs, which is a strong indicator that it's a pretty low level gin.