Scottish Gin Tasting

In recent years there has been an increase in gin distilling in Scotland and, what with the patriotic nature of some of the brands, we decided to look a little closer at the Caledonian Gin.*

I was particularly interested as to whether or not there were any shared characteristics amongst the group that might not be so common in non-Scottish gins; this will be addressed at the end.The tasting was conducted at Graphic Bar in Golden Sq., Soho; a fine example of a Modern Gin Palace with a range of over 130 gins. The panel was made up of willing volunteers from The Juniper Society, which is hosted by Graphic two times a month.

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L-R: Boe, Hendricks (USA), Old Raj Blue, Edinburgh Gin, Cadenhead Classic, The Botanist, Darnley’s View, Old Raj Red, Hendricks(UK), Caorunn

The gins were tasted blind and we tried them on their own and with tonic water, with no garnish. The gins are listed in the order tasted and alcoholic strength is denoted by %ABV.

#1 Old Raj Red (46%)
This made by Cadenhead and was created in 1972. It contains 8 botanicals and then has saffron added to it. Rather than being clear, it is a light golden colour; having said that, only one member of the panel noticed this.

Nose: Juniper, citrus, slightly floral.
Taste: Strong flavours: lime, juniper, citrus and coriander. Not massively complex, but lots of flavour.
With tonic: The panel found this rather pleasant, and spicier with tonic. Fresh and refreshing, it was thought that it wouldn’t really need a garnish.

For more information on Old Raj click here.

Old Raj Red is available from The Whisky Exchange for around £23 for 70cl.

#2 Edinburgh Gin (46%)

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Nose: Juniper, floral, herbacious.
Taste: Almost all of the panel found strong flavours of nutmeg and cinnamon, as well as some creaminess and a Plymouth-like sweetness.
With Tonic: Mixed views here: some of the panel found it clean, crisp and liked its spiciness, but others found it to be a bit flat.

Edinburgh Gin is available from The Drink Shop for around £25 for 70cl..

#3 Cadenhead’s Classic (50%)
Made by the same folks as Old Raj Red and Blue.

Nose: Subdued, fruity, juniper.
Taste: A more intense taste than nose, with heavy juniper, some pepper, citrus and a hint of bitterness, rather like a classic London Dry Gin style. One of the panel described it as “rather lovely”.
With tonic: Dry and bitter, with a little sherbet sweetness. Generally the panel thought that this was a robust, no nonsense Gin & Tonic.

Cadenhead’s Classic Gin is available from The Whisky Exchange for around £25 for 70cl.

#4 Hendrick’s UK (41.4%)
Made by William Grants and containing 13 botanicals. The gin is made using a combination of distillation from both pot and Carterhead stills and is finished off with the addition of cucumber and rose essences.

Nose: Fresh, leafy, floral, cucumber rind.
Taste: Fresh, smooth and silky. Floral, in particular rose and lavender. A general, green leafy flavour; maybe cucumber? One panelist described it as “pretty”.
With tonic: Refreshing, crisp and fresh. Delicious; this was very popular with the panel.

For our full review Hendrick’s click here.

Hendrick’s UK is available from Tesco and Waitrose for around £22 for 70cl.

The Panel

#5 Caoruun (41.8 %)
Caoruun contains five Scottish Celtic botanicals; dandelion, bog myrtle, heather, coul blush apple and rowan berry.

Nose: Juniper, citrus and a little aggressive
Taste: Quite light, a musky juniper and citrus as well as some earthy notes, very clean, quite nice.
With Tonic: A soft flavour, juniper, citrus and quite smooth.

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Caorunn is available from Master of Malt for around £25 for 70cl.

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#6 Hendrick’s (44%)
This is the US version of #4, which is bottled 2.6%ABV higher than the UK version; it makes a surprising difference to the taste.

Nose: Minimal citrus, some juniper, strong floral.
Taste: Very floral, with hints of lavender, violet, rose, plus juniper and some green leaves.
With Tonic: Very tasty; well-balanced, flavourful and fresh. A real hit with the panel, although one member would prefer to drink it on its own than with tonic.

For our full review Hendrick’s click here.

#7 The Botanist (46%)
This made by Brudladdich, a Scottish whisky distillery in Islay. It contains a staggering 31 botanicals, a list of which can be found here.

Nose: Quite soft; juniper, spice, a slight soapy, floral quality.
Taste: Juniper and coriander and quite a heavy perfume quality, with different flowers and herbal notes. Quite smooth and a long finish.
With Tonic: Rather pleasant, with a good finish; balanced. This was particularly liked by one member of the panel.

For our full review of The Botanist click here.

The Botanist is available from Master of Malt for around £25 for 70cl.

#8 Boe (47%)
Boe Gin is

Nose: Floral, herbs, pine, vanilla.
Taste: Quite a complex taste; herbs, lavender, spice, cinnamon, angelica and, towards the end, a vanilla-oak note. Quite strong, alcohol-wise, but this comes through as warmth rather than burn.
With Tonic: An excellent fresh and moreish gin and tonic, this was a favourite of a few of the panel members.

Boe Gin is available from Master of Malt for around £28 for 70cl.

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#9 Old Raj Blue (55%)
The high-strength version of Old Raj Red.

Nose: A very strong nose; almost perfume-like, with juniper and flowers.
Taste: The perception of alcoholic strength continues in the flavour, as does the juniper and refined floral notes.
With Tonic: The panel thought that this Gin & Tonic had a real kick to it and that it tasted very strong; that said, most of them really enjoyed it and their drinks were quickly finished off.

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For our full review of Old Raj click here.

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Old Raj Blue is available from The Whisky Exchange for around £26 for 70cl.

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#10 Darnley’s View (40%)
Named after the husband of Mary Queen of Scots and containing six botanicals including locally sourced Elderflower this is the newest Scottish Gin on the market.

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Nose: Juniper, floral a slight mineral quality.
Taste: Very soft with a water-like smoothness and a slight warmth at the end. Juniper and rather floral with hints of rose and violets, long finish.
With Tonic: Soft, flavourful and refreshing. Rather pleasant although less intense then some of the others.

For our full review of Darnley’s View click here.

Darnley’s View is available from Royal Mile Whiskies for around £25 for 70cl.

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#11 Blackwoods Vintage 2008 (40%)

A scottish Gin using a variety of botanicals include those that grow wild in the Shetland Isles. Blackwoods also make 60% version of their gin.

Nose: Strong and complex with juniper, citrus and earthy herbal notes.
Taste: Very smooth and soft, citrus juniper and herbs as well a s touch of floral. Juicy and excellent.
With Tonic: Very refreshing and juicy as well as being full of flavour.

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Blackwoods is available from The Whisky Exchange for around £19 for 70cl.

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The Results

Each member of the panel ranked their top three gins and these choices were recorded. We then allocated points as follows: three points for a first choice, two for second, and one for third.

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The results were:

#1 Hendrick’s USA

#2 Old Raj Blue

#3 Hendrick’s UK

#4 Old Raj Red

#5 Cadenhead Classic

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Scottish Gin Characteristics

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After the tasting and some thought, I remain unconvinced as to whether there is a particular set of flavour characteristics common to Scottish Gins; some seemed to be more floral and less juniper-led then a  London Dry Gin, but then others seemed rather classic in style. The control gin (meant to stand out as a classic style) was lost amongst the rest of them.

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There was definitely a trend for the bottles to emphasise their Scottish heritage and quite a few use locally sourced or indigenous botanicals – heather and bog myrtle being quite popular – but this is no different to the sourcing techniques of other gins such as Moore’s (Australia) and Death’s Door (Wisconsin, USA).

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Many thanks to the panel, Graphic Bar and the Gin Producers of Scotland for making this article possible.

*I’ve not included Tanqueray and Gordon’s as they used to be made in London and the move to Scotland was one of economics. In addition, today there is, otherwise, nothing particularly Scottish about them.

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Cocktails with… Old Raj Gins

For the fourth “World of Gin” we shall be featuring Old Raj Gin. Old Raj, along with Broker’s, was one of the first gins that I tried when I decided to branch-out from the “Big Four” of gin brands. Old Raj Gin is produced by William Cadenhead Limited (Est. 1842) in Scotland, and it was first produced in 1972. It is available in two strengths: 46%ABV (Red Label) and 55%ABV (Blue Label). Old Raj contains eight botanicals:

• Juniper Berries
• Orange Peel
• Lemon Peel
• Coriander Seed
• Angelica Root
• Orris Root
• Cassia Bark
• Almond Powder

After the distillation of these eight botanicals, saffron is added; this is because the saffron would be lost in distillation. This is similar to the way in which Hendrick’s adds cucumber and rose to their gin post-distillation. It is the saffron that gives Old Raj Gin its distinctive pale golden colour. This production technique means that Old Raj is classified as a Distilled Gin.

The Taste:

Red

Own
Soft and quite smooth, with subtle, complex flavours of fruit and spice.

G&T
Distinct citrus flavours; refreshing and flavourful. Simply wonderful; most folks would go back for a second glass. Easy to drink with less pronounced juniper notes than some gin and tonics that are nonetheless well-defined.

Martini
Strong juniper; rather classic with a twist of spice. The gin made it incredibly warming, although it does smooth off towards the end.

Gimlet
Flavourful with a lemony element. Neither of the ingredients overpower the other and there is a very full mouth feel, not unlike Roses’ Lime Marmalade. Not as crisp as most Gimlets, but still pretty good.

Gin Bump
Thirst quenching, quite sweet, fresh and gingery.

Negroni
Quite intense and bitter, saffron seems to come through (at least its bitterness). It’s intensely herbal and very bitter.

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Blue

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Own
Quite strong alcohol on the nose with juniper and coriander notes coming through, too.
The taste is spicy with heavy citrus, almost to the point of being sherberty. Complex with a good portion of juniper and a touch of burn on the tongue. The flavour is fuller than the Red, but there is more burn from the alcohol.

G&T
Strong flavour, in particular citrus, with additional hints of pine and vanilla. The juniper seems quite fresh rather than dry.

Martini
Greater flavour than the Red and the additional alcoholic strength is immediately noticeable: this is drink that doesn’t do things by halves. This may be too intense for some people, but, that said, it surprisingly seems to have less burn than the Red version.

Gimlet
The flavours of the lime cordial and the gin seem more distinct from each other in the Blue Gimlet. The gin is more intense and, like the Martini, the drink is obviously more alcoholic.

Gin Bump
Dry initially followed by a crescendo of sweetness. A long and herbally finish.Negroni
Bitter but more smooth, rounded and easier to drink than the Red. The Gin is more prevalent and it is evident that this is quite a strong drink, perfect for a Friday evening.

In Conclusion
I think both varieties of Old Raj Gin are seriously underrated and, whilst the Red is a great everyday gin, the Blue is good when you’re looking for something a bit special. The two gins are very classic in style and this is shown by the fact that the best cocktails for the two were the Martini and the Gin & Tonic.

For our coverage of our Tasting of 11 Scottish Gins, click here.