G’VINE GIN, part of the wide range of brands both produced and owned by the EWG company out of Cognac, France (for those not familiar with the region, think Southwestern France or Cognac, which works just as fine).
On top of being a product from the country I grew up in, it seems like it keeps gaining popularity and praise from mixologists all over the world which by itself, for the record, totally won me over reviewing it.
Now that we’ve laid out some facts for all you nerds out there, let’s talk about what we’re all here for: Gin.
The so-called London Dry gin, as of today, is the most popular gin category and usually the one thing popping into one’s mind whenever Gin is brought to the table (aka juniper-forward all up in your face).
With that being said, some brands decide to go out of their way and put out something different. Not only do some of them attempt to come up with something different but bold and fresh to the market. That is where G’vine Gin Floraison comes in. Despite them already offering a more ‘classic’ juniper-heavy London Dry type gin (Nouaison), my guess is they attempted to please two different kinds of palates regardless here:
Distilled from grapes as opposed to grain, we’re definitely not dealing with any kind of neutral grain spirit (vodka) to begin with. Slowly infused with 10 whole-fruit botanicals such as juniper berries, lime, coriander, cardamom, cassia bark or vine flower in small batches, this definitely strikes me as a gin trying to step and stray away from its elders, which sounds good doesn’t it?
BOTTLE: Reminiscent of a fragrant-like bottle, tall, see-through, it comes with a fancy circle-shaped green top, which goes hand in hand with the liquid inside.
NOSE: It literally goes all the way from a striking grape, a mellow lime and a lighter flower smell as soon as I stick my nose into the glass along with some neat hidden spices, which, no doubt, are going to be part of the mouthfeel I’ll get sipping on it later. Picture a fruity orchard and you’re on the right track.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? As clear as it gets, it only gives away so much about the product inside. Your typical gin color-wise.
WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE? Well I didn’t go cringing this time around which is a good start. The fruitiness coming from the grapes really comes through (which at first got me confused as I wasn’t sure whether I was still sampling a gin) and carries through all along imparting some of the mouthfeel I get from it. Followed by some nice, lighter floral undertones which left me feeling like I just chewed on some freshly cut cucumbers/tomatoes. Cut right through with an interesting peppery mid-palate, I didn’t really end up getting any type of burn off it going down whatsoever afterward. With that being said, this gin brings a really muted juniper (berry) as opposed to what Gin are mostly known for, again, putting the emphasis on the grape part. That latter really came by the end, way after the overall fruity/peppery part, which is really exciting for a gin.
DID IT HIT THE SPOT? To put it simply, among the whole range of flavors I got from this gin, harshness is the only thing I didn’t get anywhere down the road, out of the components as well as the process used to put this product together. They managed to put an entirely different product on the market and they pulled it off big time. Putting your own twist on anything is one thing but nailing it is another especially when it comes down to gin and how challenging of a market it turns out to be. They literally took what they pictured your ‘basic’ gin as with the juniper berries and turned it into a grape-based spirit from local ingredients, native to the Cognac region and it tastes pretty damn good.
As far as I’m concerned, I would highly suggest anyone to store G’VINE GIN FLORAISON in your liquor cabinet and recommend it to anyone getting into gins, not looking for anything too brutal to begin with.
I can only picture how versatile this could be or how much this would come out in any gin-heavy cocktails (think classic like 2-3 ingredients cocktails).
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