Captain Tony just dropped off a bottle of Hendrick’s Gin. Out of the blue. But that’s Captain Tony!
So that prompted us to do a comparison with Bombay, our go-to house gin in the Buzzed Boomer Research Center. Should we pick a winner? Or why not just enjoy them both and everybody gets a trophy?
Hendrick’s is interesting for a number of reasons. First, it’s made in Scotland where you normally find Scotch. Also interesting is their technique of blending gin from two different stills; one being a Carter Head. Only the still master knows the ratio. (Still Master. Curious as to what it pays, hours, benefit package, perks, etc.) They claim that their small batches make for a better product. Plus, they infuse cucumber and also recommend cucumber as a garnish.
Bombay is owned by Bacardi. We wish distilleries would not get gobbled up by giant corporations. That’s depressing and that’s one of the reasons why we drink. But apparently the gin is still made in England and not in the Caribbean somewhere. Bombay also uses a Carter Head still but they don’t blend.
While our Buzzed Boomer tasting methods are imprecise they are also very subjective. Mostly, we wing it.
We didn’t want there to be a winner. We wanted to sing the praises of two of our favorite gins. But there was a favorite. Hendrick’s was just more pleasant. No big flavor differences jumped out to our unsophisticated palettes but the Hendrick’s was smoother and more enjoyable. The winner was given an ultra-dry Martini sampling in a proper glass after a proper shaking. No cucumber garnish or any other distractions. Clean and smooth. Yum.
We love this job. Now where do we get KISS Gin?
– Jet Cannon
