Red Door pot still gin

[BourbonDude]

This is my first time with this gin.

 

It hails from the Highland Benromach distillery and is 90 proof.

 

I’m a big fan of good gin and have a pretty broad palate when it comes to them. I like classic London dry gins and also the less dry, more floral, fruitier and sweeter American craft gins. If it’s well made, I’ll probably be happy to drink it and will usually find some positive thing to say.

 

Which brings me to the Red Door. Out of the literally thousands of spirits I’ve tried over the last 40 years, including, scotch, bourbon, rye, cognac, brandy, rum, and gin, and a few tequilas and mezcals, this is one of the few spirits I just don’t like. The professional reviews call it a typical London dry but I don’t get that at all. The juniper isn’t that strong, and it has an underlying funkiness and bitterness that’s reminiscent of the Dutch Genever which has never really caught on that I’ve seen outside of the Netherlands. Maybe it is dry but the funkiness just overwhelms.
 

The reviews mention coriander, citrus and other flavors but this takes a back seat to the funky stuff I mentioned which is hard to describe but you know it when you taste it. It’s similar in taste to the St. George Dry Rye gin, also not a favorite of mine despite my normally having a lot of respect for St. George and their diverse line up of liqueurs and spirits.

 

It comes in a rather attractive reddish colored glass bottle which catches the eye. That should have been my first clue. I don’t like bottle  and advertising gimmicks, especially with new offerings, as fancy packaging in the spirits world is usually a bad sign, unless it’s a known, respected product. So overall, a thumbs down on this one especially considering the $40+ price. For that kind of money there are better gins out there, such as The Botanist, which is made at Bruichladdich just across the channel on Islay.

 

And BTW, I’m a big fan of Benromach single malt scotch. Unfortunately their gin just isn’t up to the standard of their whisky.

 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by BourbonDude
Typos

[BourbonDude]

Ok, so I have an update on this gin where I’m going to moderate my previous comments. 
 

So I’m trying it again today, and I figured out something. That unpleasant funk quality I mentioned is actually a strong semi-sweet or bitter dark chocolate peppermint flavor. And it’s quite prominent, pretty much overwhelming whatever other flavors the gin might have, at least on my palate.

 

Knowing that now, I actually sorta like it, as I love chocolate peppermint flavored stuff, but I wasn’t expecting that here. Actually mint like flavors aren’t uncommon in gin. In fact the new Gray Whale gin from California that I tried recently at a restaurant has almond, citrus, and peppermint flavors, and it even has California kelp in it, which is a type of brown seaweed, in this case Laminaria.

 

So my only problem with it at this point is it makes this gin very one-dimensional. It reminds me of the Garrison Brothers Texas bourbon I tried once. It tastes like those Red Hot cinnamon candies you probably ate as a kid. As the Garrison Brothers bottle cost about $75 before taxes, I’d prefer to buy one of those spicy cinnamon flavored vodkas that are out there now for like $18 than a nearly $80 bourbon that doesn’t taste that much different.

 

One of these days I’ll have to try Garrison Brothers again. I think they have a cheaper version out than the $75 one I had. 
 

Yep, just did a Google search and one website had a $75 version and a $49 version. I probably wouldn't buy the $75 one again, but I might try the $49 one.
 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by BourbonDude
Typos

[acecocktails]

Nice gin you have found here indeed. Gin in general is recommended to be consumed with some add ons as tonic or garnish. Have you tried something differen with this gin or you had it clean? 

There are some cool options which can be tried with this gin specifically. The Red Door is very specific type of gin so making cocktails with it probably is not the best idea but adding some fruits as rasperries or even grapefruit with ice which is mandatorry will definetelly make a huge difference in the taste. Personally recommend it!