We promised that we’d have something even better than the fantastic Generous Gin, and we do. It’s a strange one, which we guess is the niche high-quality gin is fine falling into. It is, however, a wonderful gin that is unlikely to be akin to something you’ve had before in your G&T.
Let’s simply say this. This gin costs upwards of 60-80 bucks based on location. If you like gin, buy this gin anyway.
What they Say: “Admittedly, it appears somewhat eccentric to claim that a recipe for gin has the power to unite great British traditions, the exoticness of India, and the purity and nativeness of the Black Forest. And yet it is precisely this eccentricity that defines the enigmatic character of Montgomery Collins, from whom our Schwarzwald Dry Gin originates. MONKEY 47 – Distilled from 47 predominantly unusual but regional botanicals such as lingonberries and blended with natural spring water. Cheers!”
Taste: 8.0 – It’s certainly got a wealth of botanical flavors here. It starts off with a bit more of a sweeter flavor with some like lavender and other stuff going on. It’s great.
Aftertaste: 7.5 – Here those flavors continue, with just a bit of citrus and juniper leading. The most important thing though is neither this nor the taste are supercharged and in your face, but still take up your whole attention.
Burn/Smooth: 7.5 – There is a whiff of burn here, but it’s managed incredibly well and shortly, given way to a longer warming sensation.
Aroma: 9.0 – We’re certain there’s some $250+ class that could ‘teach’ you to recognize all of the flavors going on here, but suffice to say it’s a lot – but in a nice smooth way instead of wave after wave. The point we take off is more because to really get this you need to breathe deep (or add ice). It is, however – fantastic, an entirely lovely experience.
Honesty: 9.5 – Yes they play the enigma and eccentricity cards instead of the equally verbose and pointless perfection cards – but the gin is certainly unique so at least it earns those words – add the life of Mr. Collins (although little is here on him which is actually a good thing) and a design that looks like it’s meant to come from a different era with a blend of Germany/England/India as they claim – and it’s dead on. It’s honest about what it is, and that follows into the design with no crimes to remove points from.
Mixability: 7.67
W/ Rocks: 8.5 – Wow. (This was audibly said during a review). It truly changes the game here as the botanicals sort of ‘wake up’ and the flavor of them really hits you in the face with a lot more of like an earthy/mushroom like spice going on then before – without any trace of the burn.
Gin and Tonic: 6.0 – By no means is that a bad G&T, and the character of the gin does shine through. But it feels heavy and weighted down by the gin. It’s less bubbly and nice and more too much flavor.
Martini: 8.5 – That ideally should be kept very light on the vermouth and olives – but doing so and letting that powerful gin on the edge of neat/rocks to shine – well it’s not the best Martini, but it’d a damn fine one.
Value: 4.0 – We will admit this value score might be colored by us paying around ~80 for this bottle. That being said 80 was many dollars too much in our minds – especially with some other wonderful gins out there. Let’s face it – Tanqueray 10 and Hendricks are in that ~35 range. As such at upwards of 60 this is pricey, but almost kind of worth it.
Google Shop Average: $65
Website: https://monkey47.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 8.5
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Metric Score: 53.17/70 |+| Metric Average: 7.56 |+| Reviewer Average: 8.5
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Final Thoughts: It is delightful to still have the ability to pour this into a class, have a few sips, add some ice, and sip some more. If you are looking for the moral here it’s that combining flavors and capabilities across England, India, Germany and more can truly be a powerful force. You see this on a shelf, as a gin lover you owe it to yourself to buy a bottle – at least once.
They sell it there by the litre? In Australia we get it in 500 ml bottles … which cost more than 700 ml of Tanqueray 10. Not as much as it used to, however – there must have been some buyer resistance.
I love it in G&T but I agree it is a bit overpowering. It makes a terrific final drink after two or three Gordon’s G&T, but I wouldn’t want more than one.