Conceived in the golden coasts of California, made in the clear waters of Oregon, a recipe going back to the walls of Lucca Italy itself we have Uncle Val’s gin. A gin that is quite simply – a mid-tier wannabe high-tier gin. (oshi-)
Greetings folks time for another gin review as we’ve been lax in our other spirits. Now to be fair to the gin, this does scratch the itch for a martini which obstinately based on the bottle is what you would buy this for. It sounds dumb to say this gin is ‘manufactured’ because that’s how all spirits work don’t be stupid. At the same time though it’s more that all parts of this feel like it’s meant to get you to buy it, but honestly we here at the lunge never will again.
What they Say: “Distilled 5x and infused with Uncle Val’s favorite botanicals , the same kind he grew in Lucca Italy.
To quick questions give a slow answer. Uncle Val had no patience for those with no patience. He liked to take his time. And make sure things turned out right, which not so coincidentally is the same technique we employed with this gin.”
Taste: 7.0 – It’s nice and botanical, and is overall light on flavor. This makes it very nice to start off.
Aftertaste: 5.0 – We’ll leave more of this to smoothness, but there’s something off here, that only redeems itself with that bit of orange and grapefruit you got from the smell.
Burn/Smooth: 4.0 – There’s a twinge of burn here, and harshness. That though doesn’t account for why this also doesn’t go down as smooth.
Aroma: 8.0 – So that just smells like orange and grapefruit. There is no harshness, no spice, it doesn’t even smell like alcohol. Since this isn’t a typical gin though smelling like some fruit is great, and the aroma is therefore well received.
Honesty: 5.0 – It’s got the looks, it’s got a prestige, and it’s a random California hipster experiment made in Oregon with claims to some dude in Italy. Fucken falling as flat as you can get,.
Mixability: 7.0
Martini: 7.5 – Chilled and with a bit of vermouth and olive and this takes away nearly all of the faults of the gin proper.
Gin and Tonic: 6.5 – It’s certainly an odd take on it, but it’s not a great gin and tonic? It’s a very characteristic G&T though which is good.
Value: 4.5 – This is a problem. This is not very high in price compared to other kind of gins, but there’s an issue. this gin doesn’t fully excel in any area. Overall it’s just a good mid-tier gin that you would get in a decent bar.
Google Shop Average: $33
Website: http://www.3badge.com/unclevals/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.0
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Metric Score: 40.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.79 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.0
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Final Thoughts: If you are looking for that martini classic, just get Tanqueray 10, but if you are looking for a gin that is distinct and unique – don’t buy this. Just go get Hendricks or something else that actually deserves to be on the shelf you need a foot-stool for.
