NAUD Gin
In the depths of winter is it possible to capture the feel of summer from the bottom of a gin glass? That is the challenge I set myself as I ordered a bottle of NAUD Gin from the ever-efficient folks at Drinkfinder. As someone who is fascinated by the curious, and the ginaissance seems to be a catalyst that sparks ever bewildering creativity from distillers anxious to make their mark in the crowded marketplace, there is a lot to be curious about with NAUD Gin.
Naud is French by origin, coming out of a distillery set deep in the heart of Cognac country, the distillery being an ancient grain mill in Pinthiers, still with its original paddle wheel. Surrounded by lime and willow trees, it is bordered by two arms of the River Seugne, which flows into the River Charante, effectively marooning the distillery on its own island. It was used as a distillery from 1923, when Emile Perrier produced a gin. He did not dare put it into commercial production for fear of upsetting the neighbouring distillers.
Jean-Michel Naud moved distillation away from the mill in 1999, audaciously producing the region’s first take on vodka, using neutral French wheat alcohol. The lure of the mill, though, was too hard to resist and in 2017, he together with son, Pierre, lit up the flames under the five pot stills there and began to produce their gin. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, they use their surname for marketing purposes to generate the slogan, Noble and Unusual Distillery. I am not sure that really works, but full marks for trying.
The bottle is also a curious affair. Made of clear glass, it is rather chunky with an indented section, ideal for handling, at its bottom third. “NAUD” and “Noble and Unusual Distillery are embossed in the glass at the front, just before the bottle’s shoulder and a plant of indeterminate origin on the rear. The neck is short, wide and is an almost luminous green colour while the cap, made of faux wood, is of the screw variety. The labelling is informative, albeit the print is very small, and with its use of gold, lime green, and black on a white background, it does not really stand out nor exude any sense of nobility. At least I learned that my bottle was No A 07776 and the recipe was No 8352.
Twelve botanicals are used to create the gin – juniper, accompanied by almond, angelica, bergamot, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cubeb, ginger, green cardamon, nutmeg and orris root. From that line up it is clear that I was in store for a sensory overload with a melange of floral, herbal and spicy elements battling for supremacy. On unscrewing the cap, I was not disappointed.
There was an enormous hit of pine and cardamom, with bergamot and ginger also making their presence felt. It seemed almost overwhelming. In the glass it was a perfectly clear spirit, and, in the mouth, I found it quite sour and quite spicy, as the peppers that have been selected run riot and unbalance the gin. The juniper and floral elements had to battle to make their presence felt and the aftertaste was long and peppery. There is nothing subtle about this gin, it is right in your face, and whilst the floral elements should have conjured up the image of a warm summer’s evening, the overall effect was one of being out in the sun too long.
A judicious choice of tonic, one that errs on the side of sweetness, does tone the overall effect down, but, frankly, that defeats the object of developing a gin. It is one of the more unusual gins that I have tasted and not one for the faint hearted. With an ABV of 44% it also packs quite a punch.
I suspect it will lurk in the back of my gin cabinet for some time.
