Contemporary Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Bluecoat American Dry Gin

Posted on May 13, 2022May 10, 2022 by Nick

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.

Empress 1908 Gin

Posted on March 18, 2022March 18, 2022 by Nick

Handcrafted by Victoria Distillers in British Colombia, Empress 1908 Gin is a contemporary style gin that is infused with butterfly pea blossoms. With the use of this particular tea the gin harnesses one of the hottest trends in cocktails over the last couple years. The idea is that when acid touches the blue butterfly tea, it turns pink. The result is a product that seeks to balance contemporary gin with color in a package to make cocktails live out loud. So does it pull it off?

Empress 1908 Gin

Sight: Obviously, it is a blue to violet hue. The color is strikingly close to some Creme de Violet.

Smell: The nose starts out perfumed with roses and violets, giving way to juniper and citrus peels. An earthy note laces through the background, fringing into asparagus and herbs. A slight spice lingers around the edge.

Sip: The start is smooth and a hint sweet. The palate dries out, picking up rose and floral notes, touches of earth, green herbs, and plenty of citrus ranging from lemon oil to grapefruit. Coriander and juniper come up from the depths to tie everything together and grab the reins.

Savor: Juniper, earthy green vegetables, and coriander linger on the finish.

Empress 1908 Gin is not overly aggressive or floral, but does deliver plenty of citrus and juniper with a floral and earthy backdrop. The contemporary style’s earthiness is clearly a result of the butterfly pea blossoms that provide the indigo color. As contemporary gin styles go, the spice of coriander and the citrus nearly even things up with the juniper. The net result is a balanced gin that’s got slightly unique bent.

In Cocktails

In a Martini Empress 1908 Gin shows up to play background. The earthiness comes through with plenty of grapefruit and juniper. The vermouth tangos across center stage giving it’s herbal character and bright wine notes a starring role that hangs out on stage. The biggest pops come from the citrus oils and vermouth vinous notes. The result is a good martini that doesn’t quite demonstrate exceptionalness. That said, we find that some of the floral and citrus notes come out better in other applications, where the complexity doesn’t necessarily play a duet, but part of an ensemble, like our Flowers Are Expensive.

In Review – Empress 1908 Gin

Empress 1908 Gin is beautiful to look at and has a nice flavor profile. The cost isn’t exactly on the low end though, coming in at close to $40. Butterfly Pea Blossom Tea is pretty, but it’s also earthy, and in this application, it doesn’t bring enough beyond color to make it worthwhile. The contemporary flavors don’t end up significantly more interesting than Aviation, which comes in at a significantly cheaper $25. If you absolutely must have a bottle for the color, feel free to pay the premium. Otherwise, consider buying your own Butterfly Pea Tea – like this one we’ve used in the past from Amazon.

Flower City Gin

Posted on December 10, 2021December 1, 2021 by Nick

I went to school in Rochester, NY and as a result have fond memories of my days living there. Going back and forth to Albany, NY, I frequently make stops to explore what’s available in the local market that I can’t find in Ohio. Among the products I brought back with me, is Flower City Gin.

Made by the now defunct Honeoye Falls Distillery, Flower City Gin was a well received gin in reviews. Reviewers enjoyed the emphasis on floral notes and praised the price. Sadly this praise never seems to have translated into success for the distillery, and what’s left is a handful of bottles, including this one in my collection from back when they were operating. So it is worth trying to seek out?

Flower City Gin

Sight: Clear

Smell: The nose is as implied, very floral, with notes of violets, roses, and honeysuckle. Beyond the veritable florist’s shop of flowers begin notes of exotic spice, a touch of cassia bark, and juniper notes. The nose clearly demonstrates a more contemporary approach. A hint of citrus pith or greenery finishes things off.

Sip: The start is smooth, and then unexpectedly quite spicy. There’s a fair amount of cassia bark, grains of paradise, and other exotic notes that take over the palate. These remain balanced with a surprising amount of sweetness to counterbalance. As the spice fades, violets, carnations, and roses come into the picture with a juniper backbone.

Savor: Transitioning to the finish it picks up an almost pink peppercorn like character which balances against a juniper and floral profile. The finish is relatively short lived, but lingers with some spice.

Flower City Gin is surprisingly floral and complicated for its price point. The flavor of juniper reminds you that this is in fact gin, but the floral and spice notes drag it far away from traditional London Dry territory. The result is a slightly sweet, floral, and spicy gin that’s pleasant to sip, but also seems ready to play well with other ingredients.

In Cocktails

In a Martini Flower City Gin does exactly what it does on its own, it brings the spice. The same exotic spices punch out against the back drop of the herbal character of vermouth. The vermouth herbal notes also give room to amplify with the floral elements. The overall drink is smooth, but it feels as though this would work better in a Negroni. Trying it in s Negroni leads to a more amplified spice and bitter profile, but it works well with the warm flavors of the sweet vermouth. The only slight issue is that the naturally sweet nature of the gin doubles down here, making the Negroni a bit sweeter than usual.

In Review – Flower City Gin

Flower City Gin is a particularly interesting gin, but one that lends its own character to the drinks you make with it. The biggest struggle here is that it would alienate traditional gin drinkers. The balance is also slightly sweet. Given the price point of $20 or under, Flower City Gin is certainly worth a flyer for fans of Aviation Gin. That said, it’s no where near as composed as Aviation, and will take some balancing for crafting with. Combined with Honeoye Falls Distillery closing, Flower City Gin is now a discontinued bottle, we recommend you try a bottle if you find it on clearance, but don’t go out of your way to try to find one.