Tasting notes and perfect serve
N: The nose of this new Wagging Finger gin is clearly one in which juniper plays the leading role. In combination with juniper, the spicy notes of coriander comes out along with some earthy tones of angelic root. This makes me excited for more! It has a 57.5% alcohol content, but is not overwhelming in its smell. When I add a drop of water in the glass, the gin opens and I notice some more cardamom. Curious what the taste will give. P: What a spicy feeling after the first tip of my glass. In the palette of flavours I have the juniper again, together with the tailpepper. This combination provides a warm tingle on the tongue. After the spice it is mainly the cardamom that comes forward. In the palette of flavours I also find some citrus notes, I guess the bitterness of orange zest. Anise playfully emerges at the end of the palette, but luckily it is not predominant in the overall package. F: The aftertaste of this gin is medium to long, warm, spicy and at the end slightly drier in the mouth. The freshness of juniper continues afterwards. Our opinion is clear: this gin cannot become much better! S: Our perfect serve is 5 cl of this delicious gin, without any addition. In this way he is the best match for us. If you want to combine it with a tonic, you may be surprised by its' cloudy' appearance, but this doesn't change his taste. In our opinion, the best tonic for this gin is an Erasmus Bond Dry Dry Tonic, which ensures that the flavours of the gin continue to stand out.
Background story
Erik Molenaar, the man behind Wagging Finger. The man behind a nice range of gins. Let me tell you a story. In the past we had contact with Erik, out of interest in his products. Recently he gave us the opportunity to try his latest creation. The brand new "Admiraal de Ruyter".
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The name of this gin is a very big "Wagging Finger" to the UK. Because Gin comes from "Jenever" and is therefore not created in the UK. But also because they were not going to give the gin the name of an English hero. They prefered a name of their own Dutch hero. This time their hero was "Admiral Michiel de Ruyter". A big "Wagging Finger" with the underlying message "#ReclaimingOurHeritage" and "#letskicksomebritishass". Admit how cool this is!
Erik is known for making gins in which the juniper is clearly presented, and this time that was again his intention. But this time in a sturdy Navy Strenght jacket. With a beautiful 57.5% it is stronger than the other gins in his range, but it is certainly not too sharp. A pleasure to drink pure, and certainly with the right tonic.
This time he started to use fresh lime in stead of lemon peel. And he added an extra spicy touch of clove. Once again he used anise which brings a nice taste towards the end.
487 bottles are made of this navy strenght Gin and they are now available in the better gin shops in Holland.
As Erik says, "Een koekje van eigen deeg!"
See you soon with a new gin,
Cheers,
Gintasticbelgium
