Traveling is one of the best ways to experience the changes in the landscape of distillers and new spirits. Our friend Nick traveled to Philly in the past few years, and as a gin aficionado, decided to test out Bluecoat American Dry Gin. A product of the Philadelphia Distillery, this modern style focuses on citrus forward notes, putting juniper on the backburner. There’s a heavy amount of competition in this segment, so is it worth the price?
Bluecoat American Dry Gin
Sight: It’s clear.
Smell: The nose is clearly contemporary with plenty of lemon and orange peel and the sweet woodsy smell of angelica. Juniper lingers in the background with a bit of spice.
Sip: The woodsy notes lead things off with a vanillan like character and plenty of dried citrus notes. The flavor of coriander gradually grows and gets laced through the citrus. Juniper is more of a background player here.
Savor: The ending carries on their botanical and citrus finish. It leans towards a mélange of oranges as it lingers.
Bluecoat American Dry Gin is soft, aromatic, and citrusy. The flavor is really gentle and easy going, but entirely what a classical gin lover would expect of a London dry. Even as contemporary gins go, the citrus notes are relatively dominant, along with the rolling woodsy-ness and slight vanilla character. The subtle spicing is pleasant as well.
In Cocktails
In a Martini, the woodsy nature of the angelica shines in the opening. It gives it a richness that blends against the alpine herb notes of the vermouth. The citrus kind of gradually creeps in and then takes over the drink. The juniper and coriander kind of get lost here, and the orange runs the ending over. It’s kind of a conflicting Martini, because it starts off quite nice, and the ending is clean and not unpleasant. Only during heavy scrutiny does it seem to get too citrusy.
In Review – Bluecoat American Dry Gin
Bluecoat American Dry Gin is gentle and lets juniper play the roll of an understudy. The stars here are citrus and angelica and it tastes like it. The flavors therefore lead to cocktail friendly gin that might occasionally get lost or show off any bright / citrusy counterparts it encounters. With a price tag around $25, this is a decent competitor to other contemporary gins like Aviation. While it isn’t a starter gin, fans of lighter contemporary gins and those that dislike juniper should consider Bluecoat.
3 thoughts on “Bluecoat American Dry Gin”