Well,

we saw many amazing places with some very cool people on board our trusty ship.

During the season I managed to try several local gins from such far flung places as Iceland, Greenland, the UK and Norway. Most were very tasty examples of what passionate craft distillers can produce. Unfortunately one was an example of what not to do when distilling.

Top of the list had to be Isfjord Arctic Gin from Greenland. A very tasty, citrus forward tipple. The bottle was empty far too quickly, and as I had purchased it in a small town in Greenland, unable to be replaced easily. It should be available in Europe soon.

Next was Harahorn Gin, a small batch Norwegian item. Also very tasty, though less citrus than I usually prefer. Well balanced though, and excellent with lime. And how can you not like a gin with a Jackelope on the label?

What can I say about The Botanist Gin from Islay in Scotland that hasn’t already been said? It’s a lovely, smooth gin with some surprising botanicals coming to the front. Not too juniper heavy, which I appreciate.

And now we come to it, the fly in the ointment. Unfortunately, the distillers at Vorgin in Iceland included too much of the heads and/or tails of the distillation, and the product suffers. It tastes, and smells, very strongly of the bad moonshine that will make you blind and crazy. The odour is similar to nail polish remover and is very recognizable. I tried to like it,I really did, but I couldn’t even finish my first G & T with this product. Hopefully it improves in future runs.

Now I’m back on the West Coast of BC and enjoying some local gins here. But more on that in the next post…