I’ll start with a disclaimer. I’m not a gin drinker.
When I was offered a bottle of Hoxton Gin for the advent calendar giveaway I decided to be cheeky and ask for a bottle for myself as well so I could review it (read: drink gin). The website promises tastes of coconut and grapefruit, and I read reviews saying it was a gin to appeal to Malibu drinkers, so I was intrigued as to what it would taste like!
Now, I might not be a gin drinker, but to be fair, I’m no Malibu drinker either. I’m a whisky drinker. I like the taste of alcohol, it’s just that harsh, bitter, juniper taste I don’t like in gin. This means I do like gins with different botanicals where juniper isn’t so strong in the mix (I hate tonic though, blurgh)
Hoxton Gin, as you might think from the name, is marketed at a deeply hip and creative crowd. I am not hip, and I don’t think of myself as creative either (people who use the word creative always seem to use it in a particular sense that means they need lots of naps to recharge themselves and time out to feel inspired, I’ve got too much to do to be creative).
I am probably not it’s target market. I like to spend my evenings in bars where I can get a seat and the music isn’t so loud that you can’t chat and then go home and have a hot chocolate. Hoxton Gin people look like they dance on tables, shout over the DJ (who they know personally) and then fall asleep on their friends couch as the sun is coming up, before wandering off for an all day breakfast at a back street cafe.
Still, I like coconut, and just because cool people drink something doesn’t mean I can’t, so I put on my best “ironic” Christmas jumper (it’s not really ironic, it’s warm) and poured myself a Hoxton Gin and Ginger Ale (like a gin buck, but without the lemon juice as I’m not that organised).
Well, I think it’s bloomin’ lovely stuff. The juniper is incredibly mild, it might as well not be there at all to my (rubbish) palette, but it has a beautifully smooth coconutty flavour that’s not as cloyingly strong and sweet as Malibu.It’s worth noting that Mr Chick, who is a gin drinker, tried it with tonic and felt that the coconut taste was a little too synthetic for his taste.
I think that if you’re expecting gin, you will be surprised at the taste of Hoxton Gin. Whether that’s a pleasant surprise or an nasty shock really depends on how much you like gin, and how much you like coconut.
I had intended to try some of their recommended cocktails, but the way December has worked out means unfortunately I won’t have time to be hunting down honey syrup or making rhubarb puree. But they do look lovely, and maybe over the Christmas period when things settle down a little I will have more time to hunt down ingredients and make lovely cocktails.
That is if I haven’t drunk it all with ginger ale first.
Hoxton Gin is available from The Whisky Exchange priced at £28.25. Alternatively, if you’d like to try your chances at getting your hands on a free bottle then visit the Advent Calendar and take a peek behind door seven!
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