Part of a 2 week – what does a $10 dollar bill get me review set – the answer as unfortunately common is not magic or art in a bottle, but bitter, bitter disappointment.
Naive me thought that I have sort of ignored the low tier gin aisle after my trouble with things like Gilbey‘s and finding the salvation that is New Amsterdam Gin and that I should correct this. However between Gilbey’s and this – I’m not so sure I actually like gin anymore…
What they Say: “The origins of Charles Fleischmann, the first American-made gin, date back to 1870. Charles came to the United States during the Civil War from Europe with a distilling background. Once in America, he saw the need for the improvement of backing and returned to Austria to acquire samples of yeast. Soon after, Charles returned to the States with his younger brother Maximillian and in 1868 the brothers joined James Gaff, a Cincinnati distiller, in a partnership.
Through this partnership the brothers and Gaff revolutionized the baking industry with America’s first standardized yeast strain. A few years later in 1870, a subsidiary named the Fleischmann Distilling Company was founded, and American had its first distilled gin.
In 1879 Gaff died, and the brothers purchased the shares of the company. The success of the yeast development allows the Fleischmanns to grow their distilling operations and offerings to include Eastern Rye Whiskey, cordials, bourbon and vodka.”
Taste: 4.5 – It starts off as a very weak, but otherwise standard gin flavor.
Aftertaste: 0.5 – What follows can only be described as “I wish I was not facing my laptop so I could spit this out”
Burn/Smooth: 1.0 – Considering I would have preferred this going up instead of down – yeah let’s just the burn here isn’t helping.
Aroma: 3.5 – Well that smells like some cheap gin – oh boy.
Honesty: 3.0 – A. You made me write a novel from font size 5 on your bottle. B. Nowhere does this say anything about your gin – it’s some bloke who had some yeast. C. I suspect your vodka has given me a yeast infection.
Mixability: 3.75
Gin & Tonic: 3.0 – That is awful.
Red Baron: 4.5 – Even in the Baron you can tell this isn’t great.
Value: 2.0 – This is simply. Not. Worth it.
Google Shop Average: $10
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Louis_Fleischmann
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 1.5
Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.
Metric Score: 18.25/70 |+| Metric Average: 2.6 |+| Reviewer Average: 1.5
Final Thoughts: Dear old Charles should have stayed in fucken Austria – we would have been better off him not being the first gin distillery. I know I’m supposed to be objective here – but fuck this gin, and fuck off Charles Fleischmann.
I would like to commend your distillery on their fine products at excellent prices! I’m not a heavy drinker of Spirits, but was surprised how great your gin and vodka are when looking for a change from beer! I’m happy to be able support a true American Company that’s always produced quality products for years!! Keep up the excellent work!,
ThankYou, Ed
May I have my money back? The worst of the worst. Sorry guys. It’s okay, though. I can use it to disinfect instead of rubbing alcohol.