Award-winning Bluecoat American Dry Gin. Photo courtesy Philadelphia Distilling.

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November 2009

Last Updated October 2013

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Cocktails

Bluecoat American Dry Gin

Page 2: The Flavor Of American Dry Gin

This is Page 2 of a two-page article. Click on the black links below to visit Page 1.

• Page 1: Introduction To Bluecoat American Dry Gin
• Page 1: Types Of Gin
• Page 2: Bluecoat Gin Flavor Components
• Page 2: Shopping Information

What You’ll Taste

We drink our spirits neat, never mixed, because we drink only the best spirits; and because the best deliver layers and layers of flavor that tease a food, wine or spirits writer to determine what they are.

Uncork the Bluecoat and fragrant juniper, orange and lime leap out of the bottle (and shortly, onto the palate). If you are familiar with angelica and orris root, popular ingredients in gin, you may be able to detect them. But is that cardamom? Philadelphia Distilling admits to “organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and a third citrus peel that remains untold account for this unique and complex flavoring.” If it isn’t some type of lime, we’re a monkey’s uncle.

Each gin producer has its own multi-ingredient recipe, which is why one gin tastes so different from the next. For a very instructive illustration of this, see the botanicals used in Martin Miller’s Gin.

Philadelphia Distilling tell us that using botanical juniper berries (the principal component of gin) gives Bluecoat Gin slightly different flavor characteristics and an earthier, spicier character than a traditional London Dry Gin. A second point of difference is the use of citrus peels not found in most gins (and here, organic). It is the citrusy quality that defines this new style of American Dry Gin. The citrus is in equal prominence with the juniper, whereas in London Dry Gins, juniper typically dominates.

We found the gin to be not earthy and spicy, but crisp, clean and citrusy—exuberant and refreshing. It has a fruity succulence that will appeal to those who don’t normally like gin, and a seductive succulence for those of us who do. As citrus vodka has proved its popularity, American Dry Gin should be a bridge.

In earlier times, young ladies who were not deemed old enough for perfume put a dab of vanilla extract behind their ears. Ladies, if you want to attract men, try a dab of Bluecoat Gin. (Men, you can try it too—it smells very much like a great men’s cologne.)

The blue bottle is so handsome, we repurposed it to serve water at the table when the gin was gone.