Gin is not as complicated as you’d think. “Basically, gin is infused vodka,” explains Andrew Friedman of Liberty, site of our blind gin taste test. The “infused” bit is key, however. What your gin gets infused with and in what quantities—these things are what create the difference between a “smells like a hillbilly truck” reaction and a “smells like a spring meadow” reaction (both of which were achieved by the gins under consideration).
You probably know gin as a staple of the old-school martini. It’s far more old-school than the martini, though—old enough to have been used (not very effectively but probably soothingly) to fight Europe’s “black death” in the 14th century. At its most basic, gin is distilled spirits spiked with the essence of juniper berries, a concoction that, when you close your eyes, might make you think of England. If it doesn’t, it should, because gin is very much associated with the British Empire. The colonialists needed to keep the malaria at bay while they were stealing resources from far-off lands, but (poor dears) they found their antimalaria medicine, quinine, to be unappealingly bitter. So they took to pouring quinine into their gin along with a splash of tonic water—there, that’s better.
“London Dry Gin,” with its strong currents of citrus, eventually became a standard of refined palates, and gin and tonics, worldwide. More recently, according to Friedman, a new “western style” of gin-making has emerged (“western” meaning primarily the Western United States and its local distilling boom). Less fussily purist, more open to infusions of whatever’s aromatic and in season, a number of these western-style gins were put up against a classic of the genre, with reactions from tasters that ranged from “innocuous” to “Pow!”
Washington Dry Gin from Dry Fly Distilling, Spokane: There is a muscular and defiant tone to the Dry Fly marketing video—”Dry Fly does not back down from any challenge… We are ready to kick ass and take names… We will go up against any brand, anywhere, any time… This is TRUTH in alcohol manufacturing”—and some of that feisty spirit is certainly present in Dry Fly’s Washington Dry Gin, which was mistaken by many, many tasters to be tequila because of its sweetness and fiery kick. “Smells and tastes like tequila,” said one. “Does not really taste like a gin,” said another.
Licorice and anise were detected, and for some this tipped over into a “soapy” quality, which is obviously not good. For others, it went in the “too sweet” direction. One just said, “Disgusting.”
Someone else detected “cucumber.” That person was alone, however. Dry Fly lost the taste test by a wide (and sometimes angry) margin.
Plymouth Gin from Pernod Ricard SA,
everywhere: “Clear,” “neutral,” and calling to mind “a pine grove” and “an independent woman” (pleasingly misheard by one taster as “an independent Mormon”), this well-regarded
titan of the gin establishment produced solid scores and many variations on the idea of “gentle.” (One woman deemed it her “mellow fellow,” another called it “gentle Ginny.”) Plymouth was the gin that people could most easily imagine in a martini, which is probably to say that it is the gin most tasters had already had in a martini. Its name dates back to 1793, it was once the official drink of Britain’s Royal Navy—which ordered barrels of it in “navy strength”—and its current manufacturer is the giant French conglomerate Pernod Ricard.
Some people thought they tasted green apple, one person picked up a “hint of spice,” and another person experienced “a confident bite.” But mostly the reaction to Plymouth could be summed up as follows: “pretty legit,” “not offensive,” and “fine.” “As a person who doesn’t like gin,” declared a vodka martini drinker, “I think I could drink this and not freak out.”
Ebb + Flow from Sound Spirits Distillery, Seattle: Pitched by its creators as having a “rich balance” of herbs, citrus, and spice, Ebb + Flow Gin was immediately declared by a taster from Alaska to be “what I would drink if I was gonna rob a car.” Asked whether that meant the entire car or just some of its contents, the taster replied: “Either way.” This was the brand that produced the “smells like a hillbilly truck” reaction. Also: “Like a fire that you set with kerosene.” But other drinkers, perhaps with more weathered taste buds, found this crime-inspiring mouth-burner to be “kind of minty.”
The middle ground reaction was that Ebb + Flow was “a tough tease” in that it “smelled good, but burned.” Perhaps this was simply the intended ebb and the flow?
“So far my favorite,” said one taster, floating on the ebb. Then, while in the flow: “Maybe not.”
“Ow!” said another, reacting to its “harsh bite.”
Yet another: “End kicks in the balls.”
The Jekyll-and-Hyde-ness of this gin also triggered immediate scary-uncle-related flashbacks in at least two tasters. One recalled an uncle who drove around with a bottle of whiskey stashed between his legs, while another recalled a great-uncle who was a World War II veteran and sat menacingly silent in his recliner.
Positive reactions were along the lines of “Lively as shit.”
Hedge Trimmer from Sun Liquor Distillery, Seattle: There was something very polite and well-scrubbed about this gin. “Like a proper lady,” said one taster. “Very safe and sheltered.” It was declared “hygienic,” it evoked “a baby’s bottom,” it had “a less distracting scent,” it was “nice and subtle,” it was “smooth, light, crisp.”
The downside of this: “Bland.”
But there is a not inconsiderable upside to a gin that declines to prance about and wave a million spices and aromatics in your face: “Martini,” as one person put it, making the succinct point that a proper martini involves a gin that plays well with others (others being vermouth and olives, if you’re being proper).
There was talk of some “back-of-tongue bite” to Hedge Trimmer, and this offended a few (while entrancing the sadists). But those who really enjoyed this gin were ably represented by the taster who wrote, “I hope to see you soon.”
Voyager Dry Gin from Pacific Distillery, Woodinville: The hands-down winner of the blind taste test, Voyager is designed by the award-winning Pacific Distillery as “a gin for gin lovers,” featuring “bold juniper, fresh, light citrus, and mild hints of exotic spices.”
It’s made using all-organic botanicals for its flavoring, it’s distilled in “a hand-hammered copper alembic pot still,” and it produced both the “smells like a spring meadow” reaction and the “Pow!” reaction mentioned above—as well as a designation as a “smooth operator” who, according to our tasters’ gullets, comes calling with notes of roses, mint, cardamom, cinnamon, pine, clove, licorice, cilantro, and coriander.
Someone said Voyager tasted—tasted!—”like grandma’s clean house,” which was baffling. Another person described it as “spicy up front with a smooth behind,” which corroborated the “fresh, sexy” reaction in yet another fan.
It was snowing outside, and one taster, giving Voyager an unambiguous 10, said: “I think it tastes like summer year round.”
In conclusions: “First place,” “most favorite,” and “yes.” 
Totally. Voyager FTW.
@1: Bendistillery is one of those less-than-scrupulous companies that buy mass-produced industrial ethanol, re-filter or re-distill it a bunch of times, and sell it as “hand-crafted”:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/being…
Just FYI. There are so many better options out there.
I think from a standpoint of a actual taste test a few things are left out of your article which mean either ignorance, a lack if interest from the writers perspective of the truth or bad notes after a long night of drinking. Who are these people that called my gin disgusting ? Or others Bland? Did you know that we make our gin to be actually different from the every-day-easy-to-make juniper flavored neutral spirit that is everywhere ? The others involved that were slightly condemned as well by a group of who knows who guys or gals that showed up that night with nothing better to do, offer a unique choice. These are people who put their crafts to work and put it out there for shit head critics to abuse with dignity and something you should learn, professionalism.. not from a half written story without credibility. A better article may have offered the reader a look who these judges are and what makes them know craft gins ! Did they not teach you that in your journalism class at the Community College? Hey I’m happy that the favorite of that night just happens to be made by the hosts BFF I have a bottle of his gin at home with many others, he makes a fine product! .. Check our website, look at the medals we have won by those who actually know what the fuck they are talking about. And the writer isn’t swayed by free drinks and sushi. Get a life
I think from a standpoint of a actual taste test a few things are left out of your article which mean either ignorance, a lack if interest from the writers perspective of the truth or bad notes after a long night of drinking. Who are these people that called my gin disgusting ? Or others Bland? Did you know that we make our gin to be actually different from the every-day-easy-to-make juniper flavored neutral spirit that is everywhere ? The others involved that were slightly condemned as well by a group of who knows who guys or gals that showed up that night with nothing better to do, offer a unique choice. These are people who put their crafts to work and put it out there for shit head critics to abuse with dignity and something you should learn, professionalism.. not from a half written story without credibility. A better article may have offered the reader a look who these judges are and what makes them know craft gins ! Did they not teach you that in your journalism class at the Community College? Hey I’m happy that the favorite of that night just happens to be made by the hosts BFF I have a bottle of his gin at home with many others, he makes a fine product! .. Check our website, look at the medals we have won by those who actually know what the fuck they are talking about. And the writer isn’t swayed by free drinks and sushi. Get a life
If this was a worthwhile taste test, they’d have included some major premium labels, like Hendricks and Miller’s.
WTF, no Oola? Dumbfucks – it’s the best.
Also, Ebb+Flow is higher proof than the rest, so, of course, it’s going to burn more.
Very poorly written article!
Very, very poorly written article by someone who knows very, very little about distilling let alone about gin!
Voyager is delicious. I tasted cucumber. Plymouth would appeal more to a vodka drinker, and Voyager more to a gin lover.
This article needs to be pulled. The “tasters” obviously lack any real training in the nuances of alcohol tasting. This “test” demonstrates an utter lack of structure. This “article” is just a haphazard mash-up of the comments. Worse, the very premise is INCORRECT!!! Gin is NOT “just infused vodka” – vodka is a very specific spirit in and of itself, which takes distillation of ethanol one direction. Gin takes the ethyl alcohol compounds in a different direction. The author should be ashamed of not doing any research on the material before they threw some booze at their friends.
It is clear from the photo that Dry Fly Gin was not a fresh bottle, although the others were. It’s clear from the tasting notes that something nefarious happened to that previously opened bottle of Dry Fly. I suggest that you repeat your tests with a bit more quality control.
“Hey I’m happy that the favorite of that night just happens to be made by the hosts BFF”
Pretty offensive to me. I am not the “hosts BFF” whatever that means. I was not even aware that this event was taking place. Am I happy that the folks liked my Voyager Gin? Hell yeah.
Cheers,
Marc from Pacific Distillery
“Hey I’m happy that the favorite of that night just happens to be made by the hosts BFF”
What? Talk about offensive. I am not the “hosts BFF” whatever that means. I was not even aware of this event going on. I’m just happy that my Voyager Gin was the favorite.
Cheers,
Marc from Pacific Distillery
I smell astroturf.; i.e.: a couple of sore losers are just jumping in here spamming up the comments section with their whining. Dry Fly: do you realise how obvious it is that you’re behind all these indignant and defensive responses? You’re making yourself look bad.
@d.p. You don’t know anything about making gin. You’re calling Bendistillery “less-than-scrupulous” because they make gin precisely same way literally every high-quality brand is made, only in smaller hand-made batches? If it were vodka, I’d agree, but THAT’S HOW GIN IS MADE and it always has been.
Through aggressive and misleading marketing, Dry Fly have tried to re-define what constitutes gin and vodka and handcrafting, just to cover their own lack of expertise. All of their PR dollars will not change the facts that many, many experienced barmen and distillers have known for over a century.
@DRY FLY GUY: You wouldn’t be here whining and insulting the writers and tasters if they had praised your product. This was a casual blind tasting. You lost, get over it.
Instead of making excuses for your inferior product, take this opportunity to get a clue: gin is supposed to taste like juniper. If you dream up a whole new concoction and put a lot of weird crap in it just because it’s “local”, that’s fine, but if you label it “gin” it should taste like gin. Dry Fly doesn’t. Stop being a crybaby, grow a pair, and go fix your gin.
@Arcanix: I’d tend to agree if I weren’t able to figure out that by “infused” Andrew simply meant “flavored”. It’s a common humorous comment in the cocktail community to refer to gin as “the original flavoured vodka.” I’m not sure what your pseudoscientific comments about compounds taking the ethanol distillation in different directions, but gin is precisely “flavored vodka”, juniper flavored vodka.
My thoughts on the whole “new western style” of gin are that this new category is simply an excuse for not knowing how to make gin properly, or how to source the proper ingredients in a very secretive market.
Literally every new western gin I’ve tasted has sucked ass, some worse than others, but all bad. Most are so far away from a real gin flavour that they cannot perform in a gin cocktail the way they ought to, hence, they’re not gin.
New distillers and would-be distillers, take note: learn everything about the spirit you plan on making before you go into the business of making it: its history, how it’s made, how it’s used in mixed drinks, everything.
We consumers are tired of being your guinea pigs and paying for your research and mistakes.
Your a bunch of F**KING MORONS! Don’t publish crap like this.
COCKtailian! Go get a fucking spell check!!!!!!
@ Cocktailian- Before you go spouting your mouth off, maybe YOU NEED to do your homework; Dry Fly did over a year of research for their products before they started their business, they didn’t just jump right in.
This is article is very poorly written, and the
“blind” taste test was poorly executed. The tasters clearly have no clue what they are talking about when it comes to fine spirits. Their descriptions of all of the Gins were absolutely ridiculous “like grandma’s clean house” c’mon really?!! As an editor for a local magazine, I would have never let this article go to publication; and if for some reason it did slip by I’d be embarrassed and ashamed!
Don’t worry Dry Fly fans we all know that we have a superior product not only in the Gin, but Vodka and whiskey as well!!!
Cocktailian – it took me less time to read the wikipedia post on Gin than wade through your comment.
I’m not affiliated with Dry Fly and have not tried the others. I’m a professional casual drinker and I’m quite fond of Dry Fly. Opinions differ – I get that, but tequila? Really? Is fiery kick better or worse than a smoldering or cold kick? I take more issue with your diatribe than the entire article.
Also, I used my real name. Not a portmanteau of something tiny of yours and something you never get.
I’m having a hard time believing this taste test and resulting article was in anyway unbiased. By starting your reviews with… “There is a muscular and defiant tone to the Dry Fly marketing video—”Dry Fly does not back down from any challenge… We are ready to kick ass and take names… We will go up against any brand, anywhere, any time.” …clearly, the purpose of this article was to besmirch Dry Fly Distilling. As reported, the other contenders in the taste test, received some if not all complimentary remarks and reviews by the tasters. Apparently, only Dry Fly Gin had no redeeming qualities. That fact alone makes this whole thing suspect. As for the tasters that participated, I have a couple of questions. Who were they? Were they experts in Gin, just Gin lovers, bums off the street, were any, some, or all, employees, friends, or family, of Pacific Distilleries? How many tasters were there? One, two, 10, 30?
Mark, So you and Andrew aren’t BFFs. Funny, that Pacific Distillery was the only Washington Distiller invited and in attendance, at your BFF’s newly formed Bartenders Guild inaugural party back in 2008. You and all Washington Distillers should be grateful for the founders of Dry Fly. They were the ones that put the time and money into changing the law in Washington. Because of them, someday you might be able to give up your day job.
I’m having a hard time believing this taste test and resulting article was in anyway unbiased. By starting your reviews with…
…clearly, the purpose of this article was to besmirch Dry Fly Distilling. As reported, the other contenders in the taste test, received some if not all complimentary remarks and reviews by the tasters. Apparently, only Dry Fly Gin had no redeeming qualities. That fact alone makes this whole thing suspect. As for the tasters that participated, I have a couple of questions. Who were they? Were they experts in Gin, just Gin lovers, bums off the street, were any, some, or all, employees, friends, or family, of Pacific Distilleries? How many tasters were there? One, two, 10, 30?
Mark, So you and Andrew aren’t BFFs. Funny, that Pacific Distillery was the only Washington Distiller invited and in attendance, at your BFF’s newly formed Bartenders Guild inaugural party back in 2008. You and all Washington Distillers should be grateful for the founders of Dry Fly. They were the ones that put the time and money into changing the law in Washington. Because of them, someday you might be able to give up your day job.
First, these people were obviously fooling around, and people with half a brain will take it with a grain of salt. Second, I question the qualifications of the snob commenters on here. Finally, Voyager is delicious and deserved to win so stfu and organize your own GD tasting.
@Roxanne O. You’re absolutely right. However, I can’t say that anyone should take anything in the Stranger seriously. Most articles from the Stranger are better described as entertainment than journalism – that is, if you consider journalism to need to be even impressionistically informative about any subject matter. All of the other distilleries are in the Seattle-area, or French, so it kind of makes sense that the one in the much looked down upon “other” Washington would take a back seat. In the Stranger, taking the backseat to something else means that you are described as shit and other expletives to the point of exhaustion. It is more interesting to read and write in that manner than to write anything accurate.
I am a gin drinker and i really enjoy the Ebb and Flow. It is far more interesting than many of the mass market gins and some of us enjoy the Kick. Plus they have a giant squid ( octopus?) on their building. Anyway if you like the herbal intensity of Hendricks but wish is had an edge or testicles go with the Ebb and flow.
I’m no expert on gin. When I had a martini at age 21, I hated it. When I was closer to 45, I realized that my tastes had changed, and so I bought a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth, and a jar of olives. I started making martinis at home. Indeed, my tastes had changed. I enjoyed the taste. I’m still a bourbon drinker, and a connoisseur of wine, but martinis have become a drink of choice in my mix. Plymouth gin is among those I consider a good value, and excellent in a martini. Tanqueray No. 10 is even better. Two gins that I’ve become fond of are good in martinis, but better straight: Hendricks Gin and Dry Fly. Neither are traditional gins, but nor are they something other than gin. The tasting notes you offer in this article do not reflect Dry Fly accurately in my experience.
To the author of the Cocktialian (odd name, but kind of cool) it would seem you do not fully understand the Craft Distilled movement. I do agree that to make gin you need to first know how to make a great vodka (you do know that Dry Fly Vodka was the winner of not only the Double Gold Medal award at the World Spirits Competition in 2009 but it was also awarded the best in show award as well… that means out of the 300 vodka’s competing that year, DF Vodka was judged the best)
I digress… The Craft Distilling movement is all about developing and bringing to market distinct quality spirits. We are seeing amazing products from a potato whiskey to vodka made with California grapes. However, one of the most exciting aspects (so far) to come out of the movement is the variety of gins on the market. Much like craft brewers have done for beer, Craft Distillers are taking fairly mundane spirits like gin and vodka (I am referring to mass produced versions of gin and vodka… think Bud Light) and producing products that have body, flavor, mouth feel and in the case of gin a huge (almost an unlimited)spectrum of taste profiles.
In what can only be described as “truly entrepreneurial “distillers are creating gins that are not only unique in color (Desert Juniper Gin is green and a distiller on the east coast has one that is purple) but they can have a variety of tastes (some piney, some sweet, some flowery etc.) they have a unique mouth feel and a variety of proofs. The end result is people that hated gin or have never tried the spirit are now discovering, that not only they like gin, but that perhaps there is more to gin than just pine needles.
The list of gins entering the market is astounding and growing every month. Some will survive and other will not. Regardless the end result is, it is a big win for the consumer and for the bartender. Now that bartenders prefer to called Mixoligest (and indeed some deserve to be called that) and the art of making a drink is no longer just pouring a spirit in a glass and adding some soda; bartenders are now crafting drinks around a gins unique taste profile. We are now seeing may bars carry dozens of gins simply because of their differences. In the town I live in (Minneapolis) the cocktail culture is thriving, and small batch craft distilled spirits are a major reason for this success.
Dry Fly is only one of dozens of small batch craft Distilled spirits we are seeing in our market. Clearly some are better than other; however the overall agreement is they are all better than what we had to drink before the Craft Distilling Movement occurred. To Dry Fly, Sun Liquor, Pacific and Sound Spirits distillery I say thank you.
Regarding the taste test, I taste test spirits on a daily basis, some are very structured and other are just with your regular every day people in a bar. When someone says to me something like “what I would drink if I was gonna rob a car.” or “Disgusting.” I immediately disqualify this person’s perspective and the author of the article should have too. These kind of comments indicate a clear ignorance of the tasting process, as I mentioned earlier there are going to be spirits that are better than others, however I have yet to taste anything that is both Disgusting or what I would drink if I was going to rob a car… whatever that means.
Mark Moland
VP AM Craft Spirits Sales & Marketing.
As an appropriate end to this line of discussion, early Saturday morning (about 3 am), Dry Fly distilling was burglarized via a broken glass window in front of our facility. For those stuck on believing everything is part of some massive marketing/pr conspiracy, reference Spokane Police incident report 1227508. Kent Fleischmann responded to the alarm and was met by several members of the Police force. It was quickly determined that the only thing missing was 1 bottle of Dry Fly Gin. In our minds this proves at the very least that Dry Fly Gin is good enough to move someone to major property crimes.
There were also unsupported sightings of one Foghorn Legorn in the area at the time of the incident. Should Mr. Leghorn desire some Dry Fly Gin in the future, we’d suggest visiting an authorized retailer, as no Gin in our opinion is worthy of jail time.
Dry Fly Don
Unregistered – Real Name
Really, @16: such passion for such wrongness.
Firstly, Brendan Kiley was referring to Bendistillery’s Crater Lake Vodka in citing an example of a “hand-crafted” liquor that is actually just recycled industrial ethanol.
And as you yourself pointed out, gin is just “the original flavoured vodka.” So the quality of the alcohol base is important. It’s either batch-fermented mash in and “small-batch” gin out, or it’s bulk-purchased ethanol in and juniper-flavored bulk-purchased ethanol out.
If college freshmen want to buy that in some cobalt-blue bottle, let them. But I’m under no obligation to give Oregon’s “hand-crafted” surreptitiousness a pass on the same trick.
Thanks to the 51% Washington-grown ingredients rule, all spirits marked “made in Washington” are actually fermented here, from scratch. Reputable producers all over the country are sourcing their base ingredients as well. So don’t try to claim that filtered industrial booze as an acceptable or commonplace small-distillery standard.
@25, I’m interested based on your description, thanks for recommendation on E&F.
@26, I agree about drinking Hendricks straight. I never imagined drinking gin straight, but I like Hendricks that way. Haven’t tried Dry Fly.
Maybe the Slog will sponsor another tasting to try these and do another survey with a broader test group.
“So they took to pouring quinine into their gin along with a splash of tonic water—there, that’s better.”
Quinine is what makes tonic water, tonic water. Water + quinine (and nowadays a little sugar) = tonic water.
Also its colonists, not colonialists. A colonialist is someone who advocates for colonies (usually sitting at home in Britain), a colonist is someone who contracts malaria while serving in the colonies 😉
“So they took to pouring quinine into their gin along with a splash of tonic water—there, that’s better.”
Quinine is what makes tonic water, tonic water. Water + quinine (and nowadays a little sugar) = tonic water.
Also its colonists, not colonialists. A colonialist is someone who advocates for colonies (usually sitting at home in Britain), a colonist is someone who contracts malaria while serving in the colonies 😉
23 ftw!