Full Review

Gin XII

Gin XII
Dry Gin

Category: Gin

Date Tasted:
Country: France
Alcohol: 42%
92 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$32

Gin XII
Dry Gin

Category: Gin

Date Tasted:
Country: France
Alcohol: 42%
Clear color. Aromas of wet pine, gingerbread house, and cardamom oatmeal raisin cookie with a supple, dryish light-to-medium body and an even, charming, long vanilla hemp milk, juniper and wildflowers, and spicy anise and almond cookies finish. A solid, chameleon-like Gin that will be versatile.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Mild
Aroma Aroma: wet pine, gingerbread house, and cardamom oatmeal raisin cookie
Taste Flavor: vanilla hemp milk, juniper and wildflowers, and spicy anise and almond cookies
Smoothness Smoothness: Smooth
Finish Finish: Normal
Enjoy Enjoy: neat and on the rocks
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A solid, chameleon-like gin that will be versatile.

The Importer

Crillon Importers Ltd.

The Importer
80 Route 4 East
Paramus, NJ 07652
USA
1 201-368-8878

Their Portfolio

92 Absente Absinthe 55% (France) $44.00.
87 Absinthe Ordinaire Reserve 64.5% (France) $39.00.
92 Gin XII Dry Gin 42% (France) $32.00.
90 Grande Absente Absinthe Originale 69% (France) $69.00.
94 Grande Absente Absinthe Originale 69% (France) $69.00.
86 Henri Bardouin Pastis Liqueur 45% (France) $29.00.
88 Magellan Iris Flavored Gin 44% (France) $30.00.
93 Rhum Barbancourt 15 Year Estate Réserve Rum 43% (Haiti) $45.00.
95 Rhum Barbancourt 8 Yr Reserve Special 5 Star Aged Fresh Cane Juice Rum 43% (Haiti) $27.00.
85 Rhum Barbancourt White Rum 43% (Haiti) $18.00.
92 Rhum Barbancourt Haitian Proof Rum 55% (Haiti) $20.00.
90 Rinquinquin Peach Wine Specialty Aperitif 15% (France) $16.00.
86 Teryan 8 Year Extra Old Brandy 40% (Armenia) $26.00.

Gin

Spirits Glass Rock Clear.jpg
Serve in a Rocks Glass
Gin is the original flavored vodka, a clear spirit that is flavored with juniper berries and so-called botanicals (a varied assortment of herbs and spices). The spirit base of Gin is primarily grain (usually wheat or rye), which results in a light-bodied spirit.

The chief flavoring agent in gin is the highly aromatic blue-green berry of the juniper, a low-slung evergreen bush (genus Juniperus) that is commercially grown in northern Italy, Croatia, the United States and Canada. Additional botanicals can include anise, angelica root, cinnamon, orange peel, coriander, and cassia bark. All gin makers have their own secret combination of botanicals, the number of which can range from as few as four to as many as 15 or more.

Most gin is initially distilled in efficient column stills. The resulting spirit is high-proof, light-bodied, and clean with a minimal amount of congeners (flavor compounds) and flavoring agents. Gin's lowland cousin, Genever, is distilled in less-efficient potstills, which results in a lower-proof, more flavorful spirit. Low-quality 'Compound Gins' are made by simply mixing the base spirit with juniper and botanical extracts. Mass-market gins, known as 'Distilled Gins', are produced by soaking juniper berries and botanicals in the base spirit and then redistilling the mixture.

Many top-quality gins are flavored in a unique manner and are referred to as 'London Dry Gins'. After one or more distillations the base spirit is redistilled one last time. During this final distillation the alcohol vapor wafts through a chamber in which the dried juniper berries and botanicals are suspended. The vapor gently extracts aromatic and flavoring oils and compounds from the berries and spices as it travels through the chamber on its way to the condenser. The resulting flavored spirit has a noticeable degree of complexity.

The most famous examples of gin are from the UK. These are among the most complex gins with subdued flavors of pine, peppery spices, citrus, herbal roots, and even floral notes, which are currently in vogue. Gin has experienced a revival thanks to the craft cocktail movement as the base for the wildly popular gin martini, a host of newly resuscitated classic cocktails, and adventuresome new libations.