Hanami Gin

The bonus round commences! With each round of the SDT, we each try to include an extra sample or two. These can be whiskies, mezcals, aged beer, wine, or in this case, gin (my first official gin review). It’s a nice way of exploring what’s out there. The nose begins with sharp lemon and pine notes, along with some alcohol burn. Juniper berries and strong floral notes are present. Cherry blossoms and orange blossoms are detected. It has notes of orange creamsicle and, I swear it happened more than once, Cap’n Crunch Crunch Berries. Man, that brought me back to fun childhood times and painful upper palate lacerations. The palate is straight up Pine-Sol. Lemon, pine, and alcohol. Not very pleasant. Thankfully, a generous amount of water really softens the taste. It becomes floral with some tart berries. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied and a mix between oily and creamy. A medium-long finish with mostly lemon and pine. The nose was pleasant after some time, but the palate absolutely needed water. Granted, I’ve only had a total of three gins in my life, but this one was my least favorite. It might be good in a mixed drink, but I really don’t have the experience to recommend it. Three stars and a thanks to a friend for the sample. Cheers

I finally opened this bottle tonight, partly in preparation for our Scotland distillery trading team's fifth round. I recall purchasing this last year on impulse, simply because it was affordably priced under $30 and had an attractive label. Yes, I'm easily swayed by appealing visuals, especially this oriental-style cherry blossom artwork. It offers amazing value for the cost; it's likely among the better gins I've sampled, though admittedly I've only tried about 4-5 at most. The taste begins clean and juniper-forward, then shifts pleasantly toward floral notes. It reminds me of Yoshino cherry blossoms (I have a large, 30-foot tree in my yard that smells wonderful in early spring). I'm unfamiliar with mixed drinks and don't particularly enjoy them; I prefer to savor the spirit neat or with a bit of ice. Having it with just a small ice cube brought out more floral flavors. If you see this, you can't go wrong, especially considering the price.

This is my second gin ever, both given to me by a friend. I can't claim gin will ever replace my fondness for brown spirits, but I could get accustomed to smelling gin. I enjoy the wintery pine aromas and the overall 'clean' scent they provide. I'm unsure if I could ever develop a taste for it, though. The fresh pine is fine, but after that, all I detect is furniture polish. I would need to spend significantly more time with these pours to even hope to acquire a taste. As it stands, I appreciate the change from the typical whiskies I consume daily. Thank you for the extra, Pranay. Cheers.

A delightful gin featuring distinctive botanicals. The inclusion of cherry blossoms creates a floral aroma. It makes an excellent gin and tonic and would also be interesting in a martini.

Tastes of bark and cherry blossom combined with citrus... it's neither great nor terrible.

Fruity, floral, and sweet notes are present.