Spirited News 03/2016: Eden.Mill Gin
Despite the theme for this month is cognac, there again are so many new gins out there that I cannot help myself, but share my tasting notes with you. This time it is all about gin from just one distillery. However, do not be disappointed, with Eden.Mill every gin lover out there will find a style they like!
The reason for that is simple, instead of making just one or two bottles of gin, Eden.Mill hits the shelves with five different ones! It somehow escapes my knowledge why there is a dot in the distillery name, but nevertheless you can’t blame Eden.Mill for not trying hard enough. The distillery, which also operates as a brewery, is located in St. Andrews, Scotland and they also make use of the ingredients they use for their beer to create gin. The whole range spans the Eden.Mill Original Gin, Golf Gin 2016, Love Gin, Oak Gin and finishes with a Hop Gin. But first things first, let’s start with their Original Gin! It is made from just five botanicals. They are angelica, citrus peel, juniper, lemon balm and seabuckthorn berries which are indigenous to St. Andrews. The distillation is done in a copper pot still and afterwards the gin is bottled at 42 % ABV in an earthenware bottle.
| Eden.Mill Original Gin | |
| Alcohol: | 42 % |
| Price: | 43 € per litre |
| Appearance: | Clear, large windows, slow tears |
| Nose: | Fruity, citrus notes, resin, juniper-like notes, some sweetness, pine needles, some earthiness, menthol |
| Taste: | Sweetness, juniper, pepper, hot spices, Szechuan pepper, |
| Aftertaste: | Medium long, spices and sweetness |
| Rating: |  |
Obviously there is no Szechuan pepper in the Original Gin and the gin also does not have an alcoholic taste, but nevertheless it leaves a tickling and slightly burning sensations on the palate. I cannot quite explain where this comes from, but it is the only reason this gin does not get a higher rating. Apart from that, it delivers what it promises: A London Dry Gin with citrus, juniper and peppery flavours. When making a Gin & Tonic with the Original Gin the Szechuan pepper note is gone and you are left with a fairly decent highball!
| Eden.Mill Golf Gin 2016 | |
| Alcohol: | 42 % |
| Price: | 43 € per litre |
| Appearance: | Clear, large windows, slow tears |
| Nose: | Sweetness, resin, herbal freshness, vegetal notes, meadowsweet, saltwort |
| Taste: | Mellow, sweet notes, resinous juniper, ginger, hot spices, some earthiness, pepper |
| Aftertaste: | Medium long with earthy spices a hint of menthol |
| Rating: |  |
The Eden.Mill Golf Gin was made to showcase botanicals growing around Scottish costal golf courses. Therefore, it is made with angelica, blueberries, heather flower, juniper berries, red clover, rhubarb root and star anise. Usually I do not buy into this “tasting like a sea breeze” marketing stuff, but this gin actually might smell and taste like a day on the coast. It is similar to the Eden.Mill Original Gin, but without any citrus notes. It also lacks the Szechuan pepper tickling sensation and instead carries a fresh, herbal aroma with some earthy spices. In some way this “breeze” makes the Golf Gin more delicate and the Gin & Tonic made with it was also milder and more gentle.
| Eden.Mill Love Gin | |
| Alcohol: | 42 % |
| Price: | 54 € per litre |
| Appearance: | Pink, slow tears, small windows |
| Nose: | Fruity, hibiscus, vanilla, juniper, strawberry, earthiness |
| Taste: | Juniper, menthol, spices, red berries and vanilla |
| Aftertaste: | Medium long with menthol and spices |
| Rating: | |
The appropriately named Eden.Mill Love Gin comes in a pale pink colour and it also is not surprising that red berries are used as botanicals. All in all, there are angelica, coriander, elderberries, goji berries, hibiscus, juniper berries, raspberry leafs, rose petals and rhubarb root. Now you might think that this gin tastes like a berry lemonade, but instead there are clear notes of juniper and a certain earthiness. The berries and rose petals only shine through from time to time. My first idea was to combine this gin with elderflower and strawberries, but unfortunately my sad rest of elderflower liqueur in the bottle proofed to be undrinkable and so I opted for some Charteuse Jaune instead. This made a nice fruity and herbal Gin & Tonic variation ideal for hot summer days.
0,5 cl Chartreuse Jaune
1 Stawberry
Top off with Fever Tree Tonic Water
Built – Double Old-Fashioned glass over ice cubes – top off with tonic water;
Garnish: Strawberry
Song: Florence + The Machine – Addicted To Love
| Eden.Mill Oak Gin | |
| Alcohol: | 42 % |
| Price: | 54 € per litre |
| Appearance: | Crème, medium slow tears, small windows |
| Nose: | Vanilla, fruity, effervescent powder, juniper, buttery notes |
| Taste: | Sweet, effervescent powder, raspberries, spices, hint of vanilla, menthol |
| Aftertaste: | Rather long with spices and menthol |
| Rating: | |
For the Eden.Mill Oak Gin just three botanicals are used. – They list oak as a fourth botanical, but I highly doubt that they distil it with the angelica, coriander and juniper berries, so this is in my opinion not a botanical. I reckon that for the production of the Oak Gin oak chips are soaked in the gin for some period of time. While, the Eden.Mill Oak Gin does for me not evoke the memory of whisky, it has a certain vanilla vibe to it and also some fruity notes, while at the same time being a very classical London Dry gin. It maybe even is my favourite of the Eden.Mill gins for neat sipping, but certainly will also make a decent gin tonic.
| Eden.Mill Hop Gin | |
| Alcohol: | 46 % |
| Price: | 54 € per litre |
| Appearance: | Straw, slow tears, small windows |
| Nose: | Fruity, reminiscent of a certain energy drink, sweetness, juniper, herbs, citrus notes, hint of smokiness |
| Taste: | Sweet, herbs, slight bitterness, juniper, Szechuan pepper, |
| Aftertaste: | Medium long with spices and vanilla |
| Rating: | |
To be honest I find the nose of the Eden.Mill Hop Gin slightly off putting. It kind of reminds me of times when you thought it would be a great idea to mix vodka with energy drinks. To the Hops Gin’s defence this is just my personal opinion and maybe I just did not smell fresh hops before. Apart from that, in the taste there is nothing left of this energy drink note and instead there is an interesting combination of sweetness, herbs and slight bitterness. Also, the Szechuan pepper flavour makes its comeback, but not nearly as strong as in the Original Gin. It is actually quite nice to sip and the higher ABV makes itself present at no point. I can well imagine this in a kind of Gin Fizz with beer instead of soda water.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product.
