It’s time again for another showcase of some of the great gins we have here in Washington state. This go around we have the BelleWood, the 5 O’Clock Somewhere, a seasonal Spy Hop with nettles and finally the Dry County.

If you haven’t already, check out parts One, Two, Three and Four! Now onto the gins!

BelleWood Gin

• Nose: Chamomile, citrus, juniper and little bit of orris root and resin-y rosemary. Some sugary notes as well.
• Palate: Big hit of sweet chamomile and lemon on the intro, more citrus notes and some apple on the mid-palate. Juniper and rosemary on the finish with a bit of  a bite. Very palate coating mouth feel.

5 O’Clock Somewhere

• Nose: Some juniper but more coriander and caraway, kind of a rye bread smell. Faintly musty. Little bit of cumin and grapefruit peel underpinning things.
• Palate: Juniper, menthol or camphor, mint and a sharp green flavor ala cut grass. More of a bite to it. Grapefruit notes on the mid-palate. Fairly clean.

Spy Hop Nettles Gin (Seasonal)

• Nose: Savory with dry hay notes and blackberry brambles, little bit of mustiness like orris root as well as some rose.
• Palate: Fairly sweet almost like honey, lots of floral (roses) on the intro. Some juniper on the mid-palate followed by slightly bitter green flavors like green pepper followed by cracked black pepper. Also very palate coating.

Dry County Gin

• Nose: Cedar and loam. Very woodsy. Little bit of juniper and lemon peel under that.
• Palate: Nice smooth intro. Nice bright lemon hard candy notes on the mid-palate. Well integrated juniper notes.  Thyme notes at the end of mid-palate into the finish.

As always we’re all about mixing drinks that help promote the unique characteristics of the gins. Here are some selections that we feel would go nicely with these gins.

Bellewood – Pendennis

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz apricot or peach liqeuer
• 3/4 oz lime juice
• 2 dashes peach bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a glass. Enjoy!

• Nose: Apricot, lime, chamomile, little bit of almond
• Palate: Sweet apricot then lime, followed by the chamomile and juniper notes of the gin notes. Big hit of bitter on the mid-palate. Bitter almond and peach on the finish.

5 o’clock – Lazy Beggar (a Booze Nerds original)

• 2 oz gin
• 3/4 oz Dimmi
• 3/4 oz orange juice
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1 tbsp simple syrup
• 2-3 sprigs mint

Muddle mint in shaker, add remaining ingredients. Shake with ice and double strain into a glass.

• Nose: Faint menthol and some lime. Little bit of celery/celery leaves too.
• Palate: More menthol, sweetness, lemon peel.  Really nice herbal flavors followed by a tiny bit of juniper and then lavender. Bitterness on the finish to help counterbalance the sweetness. Fairly dry finish given the sweetness to start.

Spy Hop Nettles – Aviation

• 2 1/2 oz gin
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 2 or 3 dashes Maraschino
• 1 dash Creme Yvette

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a glass.

• Nose: Lemon, Maraschino, savory notes from the gin, lemon grass.
• Palate: Fairly dry lemon to start, Maraschino and floral notes on the mid-palate, underpinning savory herbal notes. Fairly astringent finish with a little bit of bitterness at the beginning of the finish. Bright green flavor towards the end almost like oregano.

Dry County – Tom Collins

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• soda

Shake first 3 ingredients with ice. Strain over ice into a Collins glass. Top with soda. Garnish with a cherry and an orange wheel.

• Nose: Lemon and some of the woodsy smell from the gin.
• Palate: Lemon, sugar, nice savory/herbal underpinning of the gin. Really pulls the drink together. Very well balanced. Thyme still carries through on the finish.

Once again we have four very different expressions of gin. As is typical here at Booze Nerds HQ, we have all of them on hand because we never know what we’re going to be in the mood for. 😀 It’s very important to have options. Give them a try and pick out your favorite.

This will probably be our last post on Washington gin for a while. We just can’t seem to keep up with all the excellent gins that keep appearing in our fair state. However, we have other lovely things we want to move on to for the time being, including Oregon gins! 🙂 Look for those coming up soon.