It wasn’t initially clear that this gin had relation to Sipsmith, but it seems much like that gin – this is really a Gin & Tonic gin that is mildly okay elsewhere. In reality while it’s really nice to have unique and diverse gins – sometimes you just want something to throw into tonic and be done with it. The benefit is that while Sipsmith is harder and much more expensive to get stateside, this does not have the issue (fully).
The downside of being a tonic gin only though is that sometimes in the pursuit of doing well there, you can make something that fails everywhere else as is the case here. This gin is improved by some ice, but between the nonsense text, the frankly quite awful taste, and the slightly too high price this isn’t a gin to keep in memory.
What they Say: “Let THE GOOD TIMES roll! RAFFLES GIN is inspired by THE ROARING TWENTIES.
It’s zingy, zesty and each sip with whisk you back in time to those FREEWHEELING, CAREFREE DAYS.
This clean JUNIPER-FORWARD gin perfectly balances softness with bright citrus.
You’ll not only find it’s DELIGHTFULLY CRISP, but is also boasts a DISTINCTIVELY smoother than SMOOTH FINISH.
Turn up the music, strap on your dancing shoes, because the GLORY DAYS are JUST A POUR AWAY.”
Taste: 5.0 – You get a tiny bit of that promised taste from the aroma, but it’s sadly lacking.
Aftertaste: 3.5 – Going down the throat though you get a bit of that slick gin sort of taste you sometimes find. Mind you this is tempered with a healthy dose of juniper.
Burn/Smooth: 3.5 – Yeah this is most certainly not smoother than smooth. In fact that’s pretty winge-y as far as gins go.
Aroma: 7.5 – It’s light, there’s juniper and citrus there and above all it simply smells delicious. Given some other things we were bracing, but unnecessarily.
Honesty: 1.0 – We do apologize for the above text, but if we have to look at the cancer that is on the back of the bottle so do you. It is literally cringeworthy when companies do that SPEAK IN BOLD but only for every FEW words like they’ve FORGOTTEN how people read. Add that to the lies of perfectly balanced, smoother than smooth, and more it’s not done well here.
Mixability: 6.33
W/ Rocks: 6.5 – OH. That’s certainly a lot more refreshing. You get more of the citrus, it takes away the burn and harshness. Sure it’s not the best gin on the rocks you could have, but it does bode well for the following cocktails.
Gin and Tonic: 7.5 – That’s also quite nice, you almost get a hint of sweetness when added to the tonic. It’s astounding how well this transforms in contact with other things.
Martini: 5.0 – You know, that’s passable. We only tried it because of how well it worked going from neat to rocks. If you ordered a martini in a bar and didn’t call out a gin (which is itself a crime, but moving on) and were served this – you’d be okay with it.
Value: 5.0 – This is slightly tough. If it was just even 3 dollars less we’d likely add this to a recommendable gin for cocktails. Being that price though puts it into contention with a lot of the other things at the $13 level, or not good enough to just go for the $26 level. It’s not a bad middle ground, but you sort of get exactly what you pay for.
Google Shop Average: $18
Website: https://www.raffles.com/raffles-life/raffles-1915-gin/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
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Metric Score: 31.83/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.55 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
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Final Thoughts: Calling this a 5 is basically the ethos of this site. This is without a doubt, an average gin. Many parts of it not great, 1 part that stands out, and even some parts that are kinda bad. It’s not a tasty gin, or a smooth gin, or a cheap gin – it simply is a gin.
Gotta say — I disagree. I really like this gin. It makes a respectable martini when paired with a good vermouth. I don’t like an overly spicy gin, and this one is crisp and flavorful. To each their own.
Looking at the label the gin you reviewed doesn’t have anything to do with Sipsmiths. For a start Sipsmiths is distilled in London not Scotland. Sipsmiths do a Raffles 1915 gin which is maybe where the confusion lies. The small print of that label reads ‘A delicately spiced gin distilled devotedly (and exclusively) for Raffles Hotels. Using classic elements of our London Dry Gin, woven with botanicals inspired by the sights, smells and tastes of 1915, including Jasmine flowers and fresh Pomelo peel – this gin captures Raffles as the artistic heartbeat of Singapore’s golden era’. So still a lot of guff but no SHOUTING. Sipsmith Raffles itself is great – slightly more citrus than normal Sipsmiths, but less juniper.