St Agnes Distillery Mandarin Gin
Opens with a lovely, heady mandarin nose and features freshness from the soaked peels that develops into mandarin blossom, full of white florals. The mandarin initially commands the aroma, but begins to let up to allow some more traditional gin botanicals to shine through. Wisps of green herbs and a young juniper quality help to fill it out. The distinctly sweet, liqueur-like palate holds onto the citrus flavour, whereas the more delicate fruits present well in the nose but struggle to maintain the same intensity on the palate. This emphasis and hybridisation of gin to liqueur creates a sticky, baked quality to the flavour, in turn allowing for some interesting juxtaposition between aroma and palate. Mixing with soda or tonic helps bring out some of the juniper, and the subtle notes of baking spices complement the gin well.
