Full Review

Purity

Purity
Craft Nordic Old Tom Gin

Category: Old Tom Gin

Date Tasted:
Country: Sweden
Alcohol: 43%
Certified Organic
94 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$29

Purity
Craft Nordic Old Tom Gin

Category: Old Tom Gin

Date Tasted:
Country: Sweden
Alcohol: 43%
Clear color. Aromas and flavors of caramel and roasted malt, lemon and honey, juniper and honeysuckle, and honey bun with a round, crisp, dry medium body and a tingling, refreshing, medium-length finish displaying touches of candied orange, honey malt, gentian root, and sweet juniper. Sweet and honeyed malt nicely balanced with rich herbs and spices; a classic Old Tom Gin that is a stellar representation of the category.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Spicy & Complex
Aroma Aroma: caramel and roasted malt, lemon and honey, juniper and honeysuckle, and honey bun
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with touches of candied orange, honey malt, gentian root, and sweet juniper
Smoothness Smoothness: Tingling
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat and on the rocks
Cocktail Cocktails: Gin Martini, Gimlet, French 75
Bottom Line Bottom Line: Sweet and honeyed malt nicely balanced with rich herbs and spices; a classic Old Tom Gin that is a stellar representation of the category.

The Producer

Purity Distillery

The Producer
30 Wall Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA

Their Portfolio

94 Purity Craft Nordic Old Tom Gin 43% (Sweden) $29.00.
91 Purity Craft Navy Strength Gin 57.1% (Sweden) $34.00.
93 Purity Craft Nordic Dry Gin 43% (Sweden) $29.00.

Old Tom Gin

Spirits Glass Rock Clear.jpg
Serve in a Rocks Glass
Old Tom Gin is the last remaining example of the original lightly sweetened gins that were so popular in 18th-century England. The name comes from what may be the first example of a beverage vending machine. In the 1700s some pubs in England would have a wooden plaque shaped like a black cat (an "Old Tom") mounted on the outside wall. Thirsty passersby would deposit a penny in the cat’s mouth and place their lips around a small tube between the cat’s paws. The bartender inside would then pour a shot of Gin through the tube and into the customer’s waiting mouth. Until fairly recently limited quantities of Old Tom-style Gin were still being made by a few British distillers, but they were, at best, curiosity items.