Aviation Gin Pt 2

In The Mouth: 47.5/60

When you taste this drink, the cardamom and coriander seem to pull ahead of the juniper. Lavender seems further suppressed than the rest of the ingredients, and the part of the flavor reminding of licorice invokes an earthy feel, and also tempers the floral sensation of lavender. Orange peel and its citrus flavor lag behind. Similarly to the smell, the juniper stays a little more intense. Besides that, the cardamom and the spicy coriander feel slightly aggressive when mixed into a cocktail. What you do not really want to do is sip this neat or with ice.

On trying the recipe for the Improved Chelsea Sidecar, the coriander featured too strongly in the mixed drink. Other cocktails too, such as Dry Gin Martini and Gin and Tonic failed to impress. However, when tasted as the Aviation Cocktail, this spirit rates just fine. The Creme de Violette is the chief ingredient there. Tasting flavors like Lemon Juice, Blueberry Pie Liqueur, and Maraschino Cherry go great together. However, all that still leaves you with the fact that this drink is pretty much limited to cocktail options.

In The Throat: 46/60

As this drink runs down the throat, the coriander and cardamom stand out from the rest of the contents. It is better if these are held in check. Instead, a predominant presence of orange peel would be welcome in this area.

The Afterburn: 45/60

After the release of Aviation Gin, it was hailed as an up and coming sensation. Besides that, it was said to be the one that would replace the London Dry Gin format, which was found almost everywhere. Note that Aviation Gin had an impressive score on the Wine Enthusiast Magazine, which may leave one anticipating a similar review here. However, the bottom line is that the enjoyment factor simply does not meet expected levels – the gin simply does not excite as it claims to do.

The reason for this may well be something simple. On the internet, you see claims about Aviation Gin that it is made out of a base derived from rye. However, the official website and the label on the bottle make no mention of rye grain. These two things simply state that the gin has been made out of a base from a neutral spirit, which was distilled from grain. The initial version that was released back in the year 2006 may have contained traces of the aforesaid rye grain, but you really do not see much of that here. It is also impossible to tell if it was the rye base which brought out the grander taste in the previous versions.