It is excellently fragrant without having the airs and graces of other new gins. The predominant note in the nose is - Heavens be praised! - juniper, black pepper, maybe the merest hint of cold red berries, with some grassiness, very slight note of woody spices; this is beautiful, minty and clean, very fresh and beautifully integrated. Tasted neat it's very fresh, lightly barky and clean, it is neither excessively floral, nor soapy, nor oily, it doesn't taste of cucumber or borage or marjoram or beeswax. Thank The Lord: an old-fashioned gin, made without extraneous 'secret botanicals'. The alcoholic fire is mild and peppery, not fierce and not rough.
Tasted in a bone dry dirty martini (bone dry means that it was introduced to the vermouth at a formal occasion but had no time to exchange pleasantries) it is exceptionally easy drinking. The cleanness cuts through the juiciness of the olive, the smear of vermouth and the brine. This is good spirit. It blends beautifully with the agents it is carrying.
The bottling date written on the reverse of the label was the date before I purchased it (it's nearly finished now).
