Bulldog Gin is 40%abv / 80proof and is new from England. It was just released a few months ago and only available so far in New York and Georgia in the US, with a release in a few other states sometime in early 2007. It comes in a solid black bottle with what looks like a spiked collar around its neck, trying to make a bulldog impression I would guess. Their website won't be up until 11/15/06 so I am having a tough time getting much information on it. There was some hype on the bottle associating it with its namesake and saying that some of the botanicals are juniper, poppy, dragon eye (longan fruit, similar to lychee fruit), and citrus.

I started off with a small amount in a small brandy snifter. It had an alcoholic nose with a slight, but very complex perfume of juniper and floral notes and the longan is evident in back with a sweet and musky note blended with the barest hint of citrus. I sniffed and sniffed the aroma for several minutes trying to pin it down and had to stop as I got a head rush from the vapors. This gin has a very light aroma and I realized that I was enjoying myself before I even took a sip. So I did, and my first thought it was perfumed water. This is a gin for vodka lovers. It is very light with a first impression of spring water freshness. Then you get an alcohol burn on your tongue with a flashing hint of juniper. Surprisingly the other botanicals I struggled to find in the aroma really don't show through in the taste at all. When I tried it with water and on the rocks a bit more flavor came out but nothing to brag about. While this gin is pleasant it didn't do much for me because it was so light in flavor, more like a vodka wishing it was a gin, and not the real deal. When I drink gin I want to damn well know that's what I am doing, with no messing around. This bulldog reminds me more of a puppy that will never grow up to play with the big dogs.