Distiller Notes
Alexandre Gabriel’s challenge was to set it in context by starting from a base of a popular gin of the 19th century. In the course of his frequent travels in the Caribbean, he discovered a marvelous brown sugar, like Demerara, moist and heavy. It was the missing ingredient. This sugar is toasted in copper cauldrons for a first stage of caramelization, then lightly thinned and finally alcoholized.
It is then aged for three to four months in casks. To create his Old Tom, the expertise of the Master Blender consists of supplementing Citadelle Réserve – selected for its floral aspect – with aged sugar, then putting it all back into casks for several months, in order to obtain a perfect blend of all the elements, an ideal integration at 46% alcohol.
Gold color. The nose is fresh and forceful - the attack reveals juniper, orange zest and cardamom, then it becomes more floral and vegetal, with jasmine and honeysuckle and notes of fennel and cumin, and almost sweet, with coffee. Full and elegant, with a sweet and sour profile of preserved lemon zest, génépi, anise and almond, lengthening to spicy notes of nutmeg, cinnamon and cubeb pepper. The finish is lovely length, floral, spicy and woody, with notes of coriander, violet, angelica, cumin, grains of paradise, and licorice.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Golden in the glass, this offers aromas of honey and lemon peel. The palate is slick and slightly viscous, with plenty of concentrated almond, honey and cinnamon tones, finishing long with a mentholated tingle. This cask-aged, limited-edition is blended with toasted barrel-aged brown sugar.
Enjoying an enthusiastic resurgence in modern cocktail culture, Gin, a.k.a. ‘Dutch Courage,’ was originally touted as a 16th century cure for cowardice and stomach ailments. Arguably the broadest and most dynamic category of spirits in terms of flavor profiles and production styles, Gin is a distilled grain spirit that derives its primary flavor from juniper berries and secondary flavors from a dazzling array of spices, herbs, fruits and botanicals. It is both produced and enjoyed all around the world and is most commonly mixed into cocktails such as the Martini or simply added to tonic water.