Rehorst Premium Milwaukee Gin is 44% abv. / 88 proof and is made in Milwaukee, WI by Great Lakes Distillery. I shot off an email to Guy Rehorst and asked him about the botanicals used in his gin and he got back to me immediately. He says it is made with nine botanicals: Juniper, Coriander, Cardamom, Saigon Cassia, Lemon peel, Orange peel, Anise, and two additional botanicals which it seems have never been used before to make a gin; Wisconsin Ginseng and Sweet Basil. Premium Wisconsin Ginseng is considered the finest ginseng in the world and eagerly sought after in Asia.

The aroma is big, really BIG. It instantly makes me think of some of the other new American style big gins out there like Bluecoat, Aviation, Back River, No. 6, etc. but it definitely has its own thing going on when it comes to the specifics. The base aroma is juniper, covered by a blanket of herbs and citrus, earthy roots, floral notes, you name it, but all so well blended that none rises too much above the rest. It's a bewitching and beguiling aroma. This is another one folks. A gin that grabbed me by the nose and I spent minutes just absorbing it all without even taking a taste. I love that the cardamom is present, but not overwhelming, and the hints of anise balance it out. I place this in my top five for best aroma, out of the many gins I have tried over the years.

The taste is very herbal, with the juniper again as a base note. Citrus winks through, a dash of sweetness, followed by a pleasantly sharp, lip tingling tang from the anise and cardamom. My mouth and then sinuses filled up with a burst of botanicals flooding through my head. I added a bit of ice and even more of the big botanical presence came through, a splash of water increased it even more so.

This is a big, big gin. One that says, "Here I am guys... Whatcha gonna do about it!"

As you folks know I really enjoy premium spirits. I'm a quality over quantity kind of guy, and was brought up from a young age to really enjoy life and all it has to offer. I was taught that when we celebrate we should pull out the champagne, when we want to relax then sip something sublime. The thing is that most mixers just don't do justice to a fine liquor.

For the past few months I have been seeking out premium mixers, especially tonic water and hard to find ones like bitter lemon. I finally narrowed down the field to the top few, but none were what I would call premium. I then caught news about some new mixers coming to market. Several are just in test stages and one that seems very promising is in the pre-production phase and will be coming out later this spring. (Yes I will have a review and interview with the creator)

I had heard about Fever-Tree premium mixers from the UK but they haven't been available in the US. For the past 18 months they have been taking Europe by storm, but with always a limited availability. Well now things have changed and they are coming to the US market. I was sent some samples to try a few weeks ago, but a severe bout of the flu had me on my back for almost two weeks. Finally, with great anticipation, I felt well enough to open them up, and I am so glad I did.

Gin is one of my favorite types of spirits. Over the next few months I will post reviews on quite a few of them, but first I should cover some background on the subject. Gin could technically be called a type of infused spirit sort of like the infused vodkas that are so popular today.

Gin was first created around 1650 in Holland by a physician as a medicinal tonic and was called genever, which is Dutch for juniper. Genever as a tonic was very rough, heavy, and sweet. The English started drinking the spirit and shortened the name to gin, as well as changing the recipe over time to become dry, i.e. not sweet. Genever is still made in the Netherlands but has developed over time to its current form.

To be called gin, the primary or base flavor/aroma is juniper berries which have a piney, sweet/sharp taste and smell. In addition gin may have a wide variety of herbs, spices, roots, pits, peels, and other plant substances added for more complex flavor. These flavoring elements are referred to as botanicals. Some commonly used botanicals besides juniper are: almonds, angelica, aniseed, caraway seed, cardamom pods, cassia, cinnamon, citrus peel (lemon, orange, and bitter orange), coriander seed, cubeb berries, cumin seed, fennel seed, ginger root, iris root, licorice root, nutmeg, paradise grain, savory, star anise, and violet root. Probably anything else you can imagine has been used as well.