Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin

The nose is mentholated juniper, pineapple sage, lemon verbena, lavender, rose, hibiscus and lime. (!) This encyclopedic list merely reflects how incredibly complex and brightly aromatic this gin is. Your mileage might vary. There’s a lot in here, and I’m not sure any experts are going to agree on the exact list you get here on the nose. It’s nicely blended with a lot of hints of clues; rabbit holes of aroma that can be explored only to come up empty with a vague “floral” or “fruity” admission.

As the spirit warms, herbal notes emerge more prominently. Oregano and honeysuckle appear fleetingly, like needles in a haystack being shuffled before your very eyes. A lot going on here, and it’s all quite engaging.

The palate starts with some minty, herbal notes. Herbaceous juniper, blackthorne, lavender and an acute resiny pine note that comes across as more spruce/rosemary. As the taste progresses, we get peppery, vegetal notes, harmoniously entwined as if a single botanical. The finish, we get oily, aromatic herbs with peppermint leaves, lemon balm, blackberry and a faint pepper and green tomato aftertaste.

Fresh and fruity, with a lot of complicated nuance. There’s two levels on which you can enjoy this spirit: firstly, you can just appreciate the way it blends together to create a single powerful presence. Secondly, you can sit down as if to study it and probe the way this myriad of botanicals unravel on your palate. I think it’s rewarding for both kinds of drinkers, and it gets high marks in my book for the complexity and balance.