I like gin. And I like tasting, sampling. But I don’t usually have gin even as much as once a fortnight (on average). I doubt I’ll have another G&T for weeks. This chance to spend a steady interval sipping, rolling against my palate, savouring, finishing has been delightful.
But it’s time to draw Advent Gin to a close. The last dram comes from Kyrö Distillery Gin, a Finnish regional. When I opened the bottle, I detected floral notes on top of the proper gin taste right away.
First sip: Yes sir, that’s a floral-astringent one-two punch. I reckon that’s the rye base + birch, with the violets, juniper, and angelica from the list of botanicals. Kyrö gives an intense impression of the bitterness of a proper gin.
Once the gin settles onto my palate, I sense the fruit (I think I can taste the cranberry they advertise, though that may just be my imagination supplying what they promise, and perhaps the seabuckthorn). The violets sustain, and the pepper, cardamom, elderflower, transition to liquorice at the end. A very intriguing experience altogether.
I respect the choices that produce Kyrö, but my first encounter with this gin doesn’t win me over. Maybe it helps to be Finnish. For my taste, I might have made the cranberry slightly more prominent, in tandem with the rye and birch. The floral presence works very well, and the juniper-botanical spine holds it together well. Just not my preferred gin.