The mention of tea brought back to our minds something else that’s relatively close to Scotland in the form of an Irish Gin (Drumshanbo) the result not being stellar, however that was made with tea prepared in a way that likened it to gunpowder. Here however we have Ceylon tea which might mean something to you. What means something to us is what the contents of the bottle bring – which is good, but there’s a catch.
That catch being that this gin isn’t stellar in a single aspect instead vying for being above average most places. Combine that with a weighty price tag for a gin you don’t need to place into a specific glass – than what is the point of it? Sure, some adept bartender may find the cocktail where Teasmith is the gin of choice over all others due to its unique flavor – but that’s not what we do here. We review gin for regular people, and if this is only making a decent cocktail, ain’t perfect neat (not that many do that for gin anyway), and it costs double some gins we could actually recommend – than yeah – this is pointless.
What they Say: “Bottle Front: The finest botanicals & hand-picked Ceylon tea distilled from 100% neutral grain spirits.
Bottle Back: MASTER OF TASTE. Distilled in traditional copper alembic stills, The TEASMITH combines classic gin botanicals including juniper, coriander seed and orange peel and uniquely hand-picked Ceylon tea. Light on the palate with a distinct, crisp freshness, The TEASMITH gin is best served long with a sprig of fresh mint, copious ice and quality tonic. The TEASMITH is the refreshing choice of a new generation of gin connoisseurs.
Key Botanical: Hand-Rolled Ceylon Black Tea
Tea Origin: Amba Estate. Sri Lanka”
Taste: 7.5 – You get an initial burst of juniper. There’s a pretty complex mix of flavors going on here between spices, the aforementioned juniper, and what we assume is the tea component. Now we’ve not had Ceylon tea because this ain’t that kinda website so we can’t be sure if that’s what’s going on here. It is however nice, refreshing, complex, and enjoyable.
Aftertaste: 6.5 – That juniper sort of mellows like it became a bass note. You also get more of a peppery spice on the backend that while interesting seems like it’s designed for a cocktail.
Burn/Smooth: 6.0 – It’s not a deep burn, more some tingling on your lips and the back of your throat. The mix of flavor and pepper means this isn’t earning many smooth points either.
Aroma: 8.0 – It certainly smells pretty normal for a gin. There’s a bit of a grass almost Zubrowska like scent there, but it’s mostly just a nice blend of some juniper, some citrus, and some spice. It’s smells delicious though, and there’s no major mistakes.
Honesty: 6.5 – If we’re honest – as far literature goes that’s not terrible. Oh sure there’s a bit of self-praise. We do draw particular ire for 3 things though. 1. TEASMITH in all caps. 2. Oxford Comma (we’ll die on this hill). 3. Usage of the word connoisseurs. Overall though the look works if seeming to be a bit plain.
Mixability: 5.167
W/ Rocks: 4.0 – Somehow brings the burn up a bit – though that might be the pepper/charcoal having an odd meld. You certainly lose a fair chunk of the complexity as well, overall it’s poorer for the ice.
Gin and Tonic: 6.0 – You do get that peppery ness and some of the more grassy vibes in the tonic. It’s good, but nothing to write home about.
Editor’s Note: Yes we did try with the fresh mint sprig since we have it, and yes a bit of mint is welcome – like it would be pretty much anywhere…
Martini: 5.5 – It’s not a bad martini – like if you were served this asking for a martini you’d be okay with it. However as fear with the ice – dilution here is non-desirable so maybe just chill the gin and glass instead of a good stir which is how you make gin martinis so no shaking.
Value: 3.0 – Now we arrive at the real problem. It’s not that this gin is bad – actually by many respects it’s good. Is this worth 35 dollars – no. If this was 25 we’d put it into a dangerously good value compared to what you can reasonably get at that level. However even that would still suffer because of this gin’s lack of cocktail power. As such 35 is quite a few steps too far.
Google Shop Average: $35
Website: https://teasmithgin.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 4.0
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Metric Score: 42.67/70 |+| Metric Average: 6.09 |+| Reviewer Average: 4.0
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Final Thoughts: We know the scots can do gin. In fact behind single malt whiskey it’s 2nd place in beverages we trust them to do better than most (glares at England). However this TEASMITH is not worth your time and money. It’s odd to have a gin with an average of 6 be something we actively recommend against, but to nail the coffin shut – why would you get this? Want a smooth sipper gin? Tanqueray 10. For a Gin & Tonic Mistral or Eden. A Martini? Costwald or Botanist. All of which are roughly around this price. And if you want something that does amazing in basically all places – well shell out for Monkey 47 – (it’s kinda worth it).
