Odd Society Wallflower Oaken Gin. 100% British Columbian grown gin, aged in oak barrels. A pretty interesting idea.
One issue we see a lot with craft gins is the mash/swamp factor. That same sort of distillate distaste you get with tequila, moonshine and young whisky, and what is likely one of the reasons we age stuff in wood to begin with. Soak up the bad, squish out the good.
Soaking gin in oak is a bit of a gamble – gin is distilled with botanicals, which provide the wallop of gin flavour that you either love or hate. To then age it in oak means adding all the wood flavours that make whisky whisky (unless you’re a moonshine fan in which case you probably think it’s just fancy for fancy’s sake). If you don’t get the balance right it’s like trying to listen to two songs at once. Here’s what we thought:
nose
Steph – juniper, aged apples, caramel
Simon – pine boards, fresh cut
neat
Steph – like whisky, more botanical
Simon – bite, honey, apple candy, craft
finish
Steph – medicinal
Simon – warmth, long, very long
fevertree tonic & ice
Steph – sweet with whisky savoury
Simon – excellent, a little more floral
overall
Steph – 5/10
Simon – 6/10 straight 8/10 mix – can’t drink a lot of it
Odd Society Wallflower Oaken Gin 2016 – 44% 375ml – $ – British Columbia
Try it? Yes. Buy it? uh…
