Hayman's Old Tom Gin

I'm a gin enthusiast and a cocktail aficionado. I acquired a bottle of Hayman's to explore the Old Tom style. I've enjoyed Barr Hill products and have even barrel-aged my own gins, but true Old Tom has been absent from my experiences. Time to change that. Tasted neat from a NEAT glass. Also sampled in a number of cocktails, including a traditional Martinez. On the nose, this is sweet, medicinal, and ethanol-forward. There's really nothing about the aromas in the glass that hint at any complexity or special flavoring. On the palate, the taste is nothing more than nondescript "gin" botanicals with a sweetener. This isn't something I want to drink neat, but on ice, it might be acceptable straight. In a Martinez, I found this too sweet and simultaneously too thin. This surprised me, as this is the traditional recipe for the Martini predecessor. I tried it with Dolin, Cocchi di Torino, and Martini & Rossi. Honestly, the premium M&R Reserva Especial Rubino vermouth provided the most balanced and pleasant result in this cocktail, likely because it's less sweet than most contemporary Italian vermouths intended for a whiskey market. I much prefer a genever or something like a Barr Hill Tomcat aged gin in this type of simple cocktail. The same can be said for the Negroni. HOT is often too sweet for my preferences. In a gin and tonic, I found the sweetness diluted, but then there wasn't any real structure for the rest of the gin, and the drink was unbalanced. This gin found its best use in gin-and-juice style drinks. It was excellent in a White Lady and in a Gin Sour. Superb in a traditional Tom Collins. Absolutely fine with fresh-squeezed ruby grapefruit. None of these applications are amplified enough by this gin to warrant another bottle purchase for me. This is good, but I find there are other options that can perform the functions of this gin in ways more interesting to my palate. I rate on a bell curve scale where most competently made mass-market products will likely score between 2 and 3. Above 3 are excellent spirits, and above 4 are the very best. This is one that scores in the average range.

Smell: Initially, just lemon and orange scents – the juice, zest, and peel. After a bit, a floral, sugary aroma emerges, though the smell stays focused on citrus. Much later (and in the empty glass), some herbal depth shows up with lemon thyme and citronella, but the juniper is subtle. Taste: A very sweet and smooth entry with citrus tastes – orange, lemony sherbet, sweet lime, mandarin, and a hint of juniper far off. Less herbal on the tongue than in the smell, but some gentle warm spices do show. The consistency is dense and syrupy, rich and nearly overly sweet. End: Moderate. Sweet and citrus right through to the finish. If you gave this to me without knowing what it was and said it was a mild lemon/orange cordial, I would agree; it's so sweet and simple to drink straight. You can immediately tell why people enjoyed this neat back in the day. It has a very candy-like character – like lemon sweets or frosted lemon cake. The strong sugar level results in a very smooth and lingering finish, but as a mixer, I'm unsure. It does make a drinkable and easy gin and tonic (no extra citrus required – just tonic), but it doesn't have the strong juniper punch I prefer. The texture is this spirit's strong suit, so if you use it in drinks needing syrup, try skipping that – there might be enough sweetness from the gin, and your typical sweet cocktail could gain a pleasant dryness at the cost of some flavor richness. I suggest trying it in classic cocktails, but it's not ideal as the main spirit for a martini; it's too sweet. Overall, I liked this gin. "Above Average": 80/100 (3 stars)

The last time I purchased a bottle of Hayman's Old Tom Gin, I was just beginning my exploration of the vast world of gin flavors. Hayman's possesses a soft citrus character and strikes me as an excellent gin for warm weather. It makes a very good Gimlet and G&T, but not a very good Martini. When I made a Martini and added any vermouth, the gin disappeared. I have a category of gins I refer to as "Gins for People who do not like Gin." These include Hayman's and Aviation Gin. They have light flavors and can be mixed with almost anything to create a good drink, but they lack the traditional juniper notes or herbal complexity. I do recommend this for a home bar, and when I have space, I keep a bottle of this or Aviation for my friends who believe they dislike all gin. I prefer either Roku or Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin and can't recommend either of them highly enough.

Old Tom gin (a sweetened gin) was originally created to hide the awful taste of inferior gin. I wouldn't go out of my way to drink an old tom gin neat, but this is one of the better ones out there. The nose has a bit of pine needles and juniper. On the palate the sweetness hits you first, followed by some citrus notes and the juniper finds its way in there at the end. The finish is short but not too hot. Drinking this neat is pretty uneventful. It's in no way bad, just boring. However, as a cocktail ingredient this is one of the best old tom gins out there. A friend always has this stocked at their home bar and unless the cocktail recipe calls for an aged old tom gin (think Ransom), they use this one. The value is also hard to beat, you can get this for under $25. Overall, I would give this a 3 neat and a 4 if using it in cocktails, so I will take the average and go with a 3.5.

This is excellent material... Consumed it neat...It offers significant sweetness and the finish possesses good depth...It's my initial Old Tom and I thoroughly enjoyed it... Overall, it's an 8 or 9 /10 for me.. It presents an interesting initial impact...then the sweetness prevails with floral undertones...It has a rather good equilibrium of alcohol and sweetness, though ideally, I'd prefer a bit more alcohol present. The finish doesn't resemble gin to me as it's quite sweet and low on juniper...The floral notes and sweetness are the dominant flavors.. Excellent value for the price...will certainly purchase it again

This might be my preferred gin – the juniper is well-represented without being overly pine-like; it possesses a pleasant floral and citrus character. It's excellent for sipping, in a martini, or a gin and tonic. My favorite preparation involves 2 oz. gin, a can of Fever Tree Light Tonic, and a couple dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters, garnished with an orange peel (and a grapefruit peel when available).