This is not the typical review of a gin. It is a double. twice the fun, twice the tasting, but only one read for you to get to know two gins. That's a bargain, isn't it?
Hamburg Zanzibar Tumeric No. 1 Gin and Tumeric Raw Gin
The gins are the outcome of the wish of Yuka and Hauke to bring something home from their travels, and at the same time to find a reason to travel again to bring something home again, to travel … well you get the idea. Gin as a reason to get away. Hey, yes please :)
Both gins come in a 500ml bottle and clock in at 45% ABV. The Tumeric Raw Gin, a London (Dry) Gin, is the base gin which gets an infusion with fresh, and selected turmeric to create the No.1 gin.
Personally I think that this is an interesting idea: letting people choose at which stage of the process they want to "freeze time" and get the current result into their glass.
Botanicals
A total of 15 botanicals are being distilled and some of them are:
juniper
turmeric
almonds
rosemary
red peppers
cinnamon blossoms
conifers
allspice
coriander
cardamom
Tasting
Nose
Let's see: The nose for both has juniper but only in the background. What you get is red pepper primarily I would say, but not so much of the alcohol. If you have tried the Original Botanicals red pepper berries and chewed them That's the smell.
The Raw gin is stronger, whereas the No.1 gin has a smoother and more earthy note to it. But you can tell these two are related. The raw has some freshness to it which reminds me of cucumber as well. When it comes to the exotic level I'd give this a straight 8 out of 10. Should you be aware of the taste of Opihr gin which ranks in the same exotic levels you get an idea what I mean. Probably this one is even more unusual. It certainly is a spice forward gin.
Palate
Tasting the raw fin you get a nice and warm touch. Juniper says hello and earthy tones are present. The pepper is still present but embodied in sweet and deep richness with a long aftertaste. Obviously this should be similar to the No. 1 gin as well. Well, not quite. The sweet and deep taste kicks in a bit later. first you get the pepper and the turmeric taste, fresher and more prominent.
Aftertaste
Regarding the aftertaste this one is a super long one. Sweet and rich.
On ice
Ice, ice baby: adding ice to the raw gin it gets a spice boost. Often times the sweetness gets a boost with the addition of ice–but not here. I get a sense of the almonds and the turmeric, and the pepper gets a boost from the ice. The deep earthiness gets pushed into the aftertaste. The No. 1 reacts in a similar fashion only even stronger. I think that tonic task just got even more demanding. Challenge accepted.
Perfect serve
To be honest with you: This one will probably tackle me to some extent. I have no idea with which tonic to start but that s the beauty of this: I get to test this in the GinGinGin labs. And boy will we try ?
Please come back soon for some serves.
Summary and GinGinGin rating
The Hamburg Zanzibar Gins, both the Tumeric Raw Gin and the Tumeric No.1 Gin are welcome for their different approach. For sure these are not the classic gins but really what would fit the New Western Gin definition. If you are into strong and exotic flavours these are for you. The wonderful bottle design and attention to detail make these gins a great gift for those who do not know what to give to a gin collector.
The GinGinGin transparency declaration
This gin was a free sample by the producer in order for us to review the bottle. There are and were no obligations nor any edits of this content by the producers. Products tasted and reviewed by GinGinGin are all equally treated, paid for or free samples. If we like gins we buy them afterwards as well. If we do not like them you will read about it as well. When people ask if we would like to review a bottle, it is the first thing we mention to them that this does not guarantee a positive review. Get in touch to know more about reviews of gins. #Advertising / #Werbung
