You know gin. It’s that juniper-forward spirit distilled from grains. Usually. But in this case, it’s a citrus-forward spirit distilled from sugar cane. It comes to us from St. Augustine Distillery in Florida, so suddenly this whole thing makes sense.

St. Augustine New World Gin, as the name implies, is not your standard London Dry style of gin. It’s distilled in small batches in a copper pot still with more than a dozen botanicals, including juniper, coriander, angelica, lemon peel and cassia bark. And while there’s enough juniper to give it the familiar gin structure, it was specifically tailored to highlight that good Florida citrus.

TASTING NOTES

On the nose, St. Augustine New World Gin is bright and citrusy, with a rounded, almost lemon dessert note. But it’s not overly done–it’s actually quite balanced, with a good amount of juniper coming through in the aroma. Take a sip, and things maintain that path, with lemons, oranges and juniper all playing nicely together. Toward the end, baking spices become more prominent, and the whole thing finishes with a pleasant, mouth-coating dryness.

St. Augustine Distillery has made themselves a solid gin. The citrus notes are relatively tame, but do add something noticeably different to the mix. And there’s still plenty of backbone for this spirit to stand up well in cocktails. We made ourselves a quick Basil Tom Collins and liked the result.

Stats:
– 47% ABV
– $33

CE Rating: ★★★

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