Bombay Dry Gin

My last review of gin was more like orange vodka than gin, so I set out to get a “regular” one. I didn’t get Bombay Sapphire because I needed something for cocktails though, and that isn’t your typical gin with juniper berry as the prime flavor. This is the standard London dry version of Bombay Sapphire.

The nose of this tells me that it’s more of the gin I wanted, that pine-like smell. It has that warm alcohol nose as well though. Taking a sip of it is a step in the smoother direction though. Besides going down smoothly the palate shows the juniper berry again but there’s a lot more going on and it all intermingles so well that it’s hard to dissect the tastes. I can distinguish a little lemon rind and almond, but I needed to look at the label to distinguish the rest.

This might be my gin for tonics and such. It’s my favorite gin yet, at an A (excellent). Now I said I needed this for cocktails, so here’s a good one. The Tom Collins:
- 2 oz gin
- ½ oz lemon juice
- ½ oz simple syrup
- club soda or seltzer
Combine the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a tall glass with ice. Top off with the soda and stir briefly. You can garnish with a cherry and/or orange slice.

New Amsterdam No. 485

I got a great deal on this gin due to the fact that it was in a "blowout sale" bin with many other bottles of liquor. It was an easy decision choosing this bottle out of the bin due to the fact that most of the other options were in plastic bottles, like plain vodkas or schnapps. After coming home with the untried liquor and taking a sip, I was surprised.

For those of you who've tried your typical gin before like Beefeater or Tanqueray you know that the prime character of gin is juniper berry (pine). Only taking a whiff of New Amsterdam would conclude that it includes juniper berry and a little harshness, but taking a sip shows how an American gin is different from a Brittish one. The principle character of this gin is a citrus orange. This will make a very different martini.

To be fair it does have a hint of juniper berry but not enough for me. When making cocktails with this liquor approach it with the idea that you're using an orange flavored vodka, like a screwdriver would be great with it. New Amsterdam doesn't fit my tastebuds though, I want real gin. It's not good, but it's worthy C (decent).