Greenbriar Gin

[chperry]

I bought a bottle of Greenbriar Gin recently. It is made by Smooth Ambler Spirits in West Virginia. I quite like it. It makes a very good martini (a real martini with gin and dry vermouth). It is ok in a gin and tonic (not quite enough juniper to stand up to the tonic). It makes an amazing pink gin. In its purest form a pink gin is simply Angostura bitters and gin. I prefer 2 dashes of bitters with 2 ounces of gin. Greenbriar is very very good in a pink gin. If you can find this gin in your state, I suggest you try it.

[SmoothAmbler]

Hey, thanks for the kind words. I agree with all of your comments. If it's okay, I'll take the time to tell you why it's different.

First, we use our vodka as the base for our gin as opposed to redistilling GNS/NGS. Our vodka is made from what might typically be called a bourbon grain bill. It's 60% corn, 20% wheat, and 20% malted barley. I think that sweetness and some of that "not-quite-white-dog" characteristic carries through. We then add the botanical load through vapor infusion. The botanical load itself is a little light in juniper and more heavy in citrus and the vapor infusion also leads to a lighter style gin.

I think our gin is better with fruit and vegetal mixers, or on it's own, than with tonic.

Anyway, thanks for your comments!

Best,

John Little

[chperry]

Wow, a response by one of the founders. I was raised in WV - Kenova, and graduated from both WVU and Marshall. I hope to visit your distillery in the future. We vacation in the Greenbrier valley area every 5 years or so.

Charles