Crafthouse Cocktails Southside

Crafthouse Cocktails continues to impress me with how freshly made their cocktails feel. This offering feels like the kind of gin cocktail I'd get at a mid-level restaurant and at 15.4% ABV they aren't skimping on the actual cocktail experience. The focus here isn't on the gin which acts more as a nice canvas with a kick so that the mint and citrus flavors can take over. It smells of freshly muddled mint leaves in a nice lime-lemon mix. You wouldn't be able to tell how boozy this actually is just based on the taste where the lime-lemon concentrates dominate the palate while the mint helps add some complexity and nuance. It's like a nice little citrusy burst with the freshness only mint can provide to a cocktail. I do wish the gin had a bit more of an impact on the palate as you can only really sense it in the finish if you look for it. What really brings this one down a few notches when compared to their excellent Gold Rush offering is that you can taste a bit of the lack of freshness. I did feel a bit of the concentrate of the lemon and lime concoction telling me it wasn't fresh squeezed and if I got this at a restaurant I'd assume they weren't using fresh ingredients. However, that shouldn't detract from the fact this is quite an excellent ready-to-drink. Most other ready-to-drinks on the market feel much, much faker and in comparison to them, this is still a very fresh-tasting concoction. I'll be looking forward to trying out the next Crafthouse Cocktail flavor!