Review: Brooklyn Gin

July 8, 2017

20170705_192507.jpgI have had my eyes on this gin since I first discovered it online. But I couldn’t get in Sweden at first, so this Spring when their new Scandinavian agent had a bar tour here in Sweden and came to Stranger in Göteborg I made sure I was there!

The drinks list for the evening was short and simple, Dry Martini, Gin & Tonic and Brooklyn Buck.  This is a very nice bar (the only speak easy in Göteborg) with amazing atmosphere, good music and very friendly service.

So, everything was made for a perfect evening, and that was exactly what we enjoyed.

We drank through the drink list quite fast, got the opportunity to try the gin neat, and after that we had reruns of our respective favourites.

My favourite was, not surprisingly, the Dry Martini, while my girlfriend Emma preferred the Brooklyn Buck.

I found a new favourite gin!

Unfortunately it’s not for sale in Sweden as yet, so it took a couple of months before I got my hands on a bottle. During a trip to Kiel in Germany my lovely Emma found Brooklyn Gin in a store, and she remembered how much we liked it so one was purchased.  (Martini Whisperer says: What a lady!)

The bottle itself is very impressive, it´s as beautiful as heavy. And the same goes with the cork, big, heavy and with the top in metal it makes a striking impression. This alone is a great craftmanship!

”Award-winning American craft gin handmade in New York. Fresh hand-cut citrus peels & hand-cracked juniper.” This is the way they present their selves on their Instagram page.

The company was founded in 2010 by Emil Jättne and Joe Santos. They don’t have their own distillery so they manufacture the gin at the Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery in Warwick, New York. They have plans for an own distillery, hopefully soon and in Brooklyn.

It’s a hand-crafted product, distilled in batches for 300 bottles. The base spirit made from 100% American corn and with hand crushed juniper and three different kinds of fresh citrus that is cut down for hand.

The process takes three days. Everything is completely handmade and you can’t miss their pride in the work and the product.

I have always been impressed of New York, although I still haven´t been there, and Brooklyn is an interesting part of the city. A gin made there with the culture and vibe should be interesting and I think they make a tremendous work with everything from the spirit to the bottle, the brand and the marketing.

It really is a product that feels like I imagine Brooklyn does!

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Tasting Notes

  • Nose: Lots of juniper, smooth whit anis, lavender and some more spices. Not so much citrus as I expected and the citrus tones feels sweeter and not so tart.
  • Neat: Here I can detect the citrus, some anis and oriental spices again. Lots of juniper, and with a long aftertaste. It very enjoyable to drink neat.
  • Martini: This gin is practically made for Dry Martini! It works well with all vermouths I tried and in various ratios. But my favourite combination is with Dolin Vermouth, and I think a ratio at 7:1 really let the gin play out. Garnish with lemon zest, or maybe with grapefruit if you are not to orthodox, to bring out the citrus in the gin. The taste is very fresh and still full bodied and complex. I can taste a lot of citrus, some lavender and a very juniper finish. I usually prefer an ABV around 47% for gins in Dry Martini, but this one is so full of flavour I would never guess it was only 40%.
  • Gin and Tonic: It’s easy to make a great Gin and Tonic with Brooklyn Gin, use a tonic that doesn’t take over and don’t use too much. I loved it with Fever Tree Tonic, 1 part gin and 2 parts tonic and some slices of grape fruit.

The Take Home

No doubt, 5 out of 5 stars! This is a truly amazing gin in a classic way. Nothing that take too much space, just a classic London Dry Gin with lots of flavours in perfect harmony.

And of course, the bottle makes it even better. This is a gin I will try to always have in my liquor cabinet!

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