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Desert Juniper Gin is 41% abv. / 82 proof and like its more powerful sibling, Cascade Mountain Gin, is made by Bend Distillery in Bend, OR. This bottle is micro-distilled, hand bottled and numbered and from Batch # 124. It has a light gold/yellow color to it and the aroma is that of very light juniper, citrus, and fruit; smelling slightly sweet, sharp, and dry at the same time. Its not as piney and floral as the Cascade Mountain and has a much softer and fuller aroma with some nice notes that are hard to pin down, but there seems to be a slightest hint of cedar going on and as it warms up even a warm touch of hazelnuts. What first started out very mild, develops depth and complexity in the nose.
The taste starts off very light and soft. Then you get a mild fruitiness and sweetness that develops; with just a touch of juniper, fruit and nuts. This is a light and mild gin that is smooth and soft. Tasted next to Cascade Mountain you immediately notice the difference. Desert Juniper is the soft and delicate, dusky younger sister to Cascade Mountain's big, sharp, and bold; mountain man big brother. This is a very nice gin, but on the lighter and more delicate end of the gin spectrum. If using with a mixer I would tend to stick lighter tasting juices like just a dash of grapefruit juice or tonic; and if in a martini, then very dry.
Hendrick's Gin is 44% abv. / 88 proof and is distilled in Scotland. I tasted Hendrick's for the first time around 7-8 years or more ago when I stopped by the New Hampshire state liquor store on my way to vacation in Maine. What attracted my attention was the same thing that everyone else in the world notices about Hendrick's. The squat, very dark brown that it's almost black, apothecary style bottle. That and then I noticed the price. It was on sale ridiculously cheap because it had just made it onto the shelves and was being first introduced. I had heard of it just recently and been wanting to try it and at half the normal price this was a steal. So I bought a bottle and figured that if it was good I could pick up a few more on sale when I headed back to NY, something which I later did.
Walk into the cheese section of any market, especially at an upscale gourmet-type store, and you are going to see a tremendous variety of cheeses available. And that selection doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of the number of cheeses that are out there. It can be difficult to figure out the differences between each product until you've tried all of them, but here is a 
