That is the heaviest cap in the known universe of booze. It’s a neutron star of a cap. it’s not clear what purpose this serves, but here we all are – anyway it’s another gin review. (Like it could seriously be a murder weapon). This gin is all about the age, and we suppose the weight of everything is meant to solidify that, but it’s a tad unfortunate that the gin inside isn’t the prominence instead.
The idea of gin candles is both a marker of a larger problem and often gimmicky – but it makes sense why people who experience a gin like this get the idea. While this is clearly meant to be the martini gin in a bar where the young naive bartender almost drops the bottle off-put by its weight – but in that crowded field it doesn’t stand out.
What they Say: “Crafted with over 300 years of Nolet family experience. Nolet’s Silver combines a rich, fruity & floral aroma with a classic dry finish. To personally experience the perfection of our gin distillation and infusion. I invite you to visit our distillery.”
(They also have bit on both sides naming the owners through the years since 1691)
Taste: 6.5 – You get the grapefruit like flavour intermingled with juniper in a very pleasant way.
Aftertaste: 4.0 – That mix of juniper/fruits/spices is there, but it’s accompanied by a real alcohol gin flavour that combo’d with burn is just not good.
Burn/Smooth: 3.0 – That damned smell – it caused so much endearment and then destroyed it. That burns on the level of shit in the $10 range, and that’s a crying shame.
Aroma: 9.5 – This is tough. See the problem here is this smells – well perfect. Not an ounce of harshness. It’s juniper forward but not overtly or annoyingly so. You get a bit of fruit and a bit of spice. It’s not hidden, nor overwhelming. That last 0.5 is pure because it is brief and doesn’t tantalizingly linger on the senses.
Honesty: 7.5 – It’s refreshing to be so directly invited to someone’s home (not that there’s a planned Holland trip). The one thing that’s off-putting here is the weight. The cap and the bottle are heavy – like no bartender is going to be spinning this bottle kinda heavy. Now, on the one hand, it lends some strength/stability to the bottle and actually harkens back to the 300-year history where that’s just the way it was done so it didn’t break sans modern packing materials. The double edge sword there is the weight causes the Beats effect (adding weight to make the product feel more ‘worth it’ despite it not being useful). All that said it’s an old classic euro-gin and they don’t bullshit you.
Mixability: 6.5
Gin and Tonic: 6.0 – It helps some of the downsides to the burn, but it’s still a major undercurrent to the gin to ruin the goodwill.
Martini: 7.0 – Okay. So clearly they were building to a martini gin. The tiny bit of vermouth combines with the gin and it’s actually a fine martini.
Value: 3.0 – This is the most expensive gin we’ve had, and nope – nope, nope. Sorry but there’s no way this will be bought again. Sure there’s a 9.5 on the scoreboard there, but it’s not where it should be.
Google Shop Average: $44
Website: https://noletsgin.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
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Metric Score: 40/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.71 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
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Final Thoughts: We need to review more expensive gins to properly put this against the so-called level it wants to compete at. Otherwise, though it’s our site’s policy to inform you that spending your hard earned money on this is not the best option for you. For your consideration why not just go Tanqueray or Hendrick’s for a better time? (No we were not paid to say that, no one pays you when you don’t use scores like 98 or A+, but seriously Nolet’s is way too pricey)
Just an FYI, the cap on the Nolets bottle is modeled after a Porsche stick shift that is owned by one of the Nolet Brothers. It’s literally the top to a Porsche stick shift. I have to politely disagree with your review as well. There is no “burn” as you describe and this gin definitely blows Tanqueray out of the water. The price point of $39.38 for premium lily distilled gin is hardly “pricey” as you stated.
This is liquid Turkish Delight, an absolute treat but it should not be your first or only drink of the evening, it’s more like dessert or a nightcap. Comparing it to a standard London gin is to completely miss the point, there’s nothing else like it and for those of us who appreciate it, it’s priceless.
How the hell do you open the bottle? Cannot be unscrewed !