The Beverage Goddess’ recent post about gin, coupled with the promise of warmer weather in the northeast – a promise as yet sadly unfulfilled – set me to thinking about a pair of gins that recently came across my desk. Although spirits that share the same name and classification, they could scarcely be more different.
Zuidam Dry Gin from Holland is a relatively recent arrival to my part of North America (where for legal reasons it's known as Zuidam Premium Gin), although it’s been around south of the border for a while now, and it is a most elegant spirit. In the nose, there is juniper, naturally enough, but also notes of orange and lemon peel, soft florals and a little licorice or anise. Most notable, though, is its softness, almost like an olfactory cotton ball, which I see from the product description is a result of the use of Madagascar vanilla as another flavoring agent.
In the body, Zuidam delivers plenty of the citrus fruit promised in the nose, along with other round and luscious fruit and floral notes, finishing with a palate cleansing hit of licorice. Definitely a sipping gin, even at room temperature, although I think a slight chill suits it best. Hand this to anyone who has previously not been a fan of gin and see what happens.
Rogue Spirits Spruce Gin from Oregon , on the other hand, is a big bruiser of a gin. Aptly named, the aroma explodes with spruce that has hardly been tempered by the cucumber the label also declares as an ingredient. As for the rest – the juniper, the angelica root, the orange and lemon peel and the five other botanicals – they scarcely get aromatic mention behind the starring player. In the mouth, however, a different scene plays out: Look, there’s the cucumber, the citrus, the hint of peppery coriander! Pop it into a cocktail shaker with an ice cube or three for a half-minute or so and things fall even further into place.
This is a big gin, make no mistake, one of the biggest I’ve ever come across, in fact. But Rogue is known for its big, bigger and biggest beers, so that the spirits division emulates the brewers should come as no surprise. And besides, at the end of a long day, sometimes a 90 proof whack on the palate is just what the doctor ordered.
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