Hendrick’s Flora Adora Gin
While I am forever grateful for the skills of a distiller, I wonder whether, after perfecting the way to create the flavour profile of the type of gin you want to produce, it all gets a little boring and whether there is an irresistible urge to tinker with the product or create something new. That is obviously why we get variations around an original gin recipe and experiments with ever more outlandish combinations of botanicals.
The master distiller of Hendrick’s, Lesley Gracie, has partially resolved the distiller’s conundrum by launching the Cabinet of Curiosities limited editions of which Hendrick’s Flora Adora Gin is the fourth. Inspired by her observations of the pollinators at work in her Ayrshire coastal garden, using the blooms that particularly attracted their attention, she has produced a distinctly floral and unusual gin. To say that it is a floral gin is somewhat of an understatement.
On the nose it is unmistakably sweet and floral, a big hit that is reminiscent of a walk in a particularly perfumed garden designed to tickle the senses, but there is much more, a hint of fruitiness and pepper and a hint of juniper desperately flailing in a sea of pot-pouri-like sweetness.
In the glass it is clear and on the first sip there is something which takes the breath away, not necessarily in a good way. Once the initial shock has dissipated it settles down to reveal heavy floral notes, particularly rose, violet, and elderflower which combine with heavy orange oil and fresh peppers. Surprisingly, it is quite refreshing, perhaps due to the use of Hendrick’s signature cucumber, and has enough heat to counter the intense sweetness of the gin.
The botanical line up includes juniper, chamomile, elderflower, hibiscus, lavender, and yarrow with the Hendrick’s staples of rose and cucumber. There may be more, who knows? The base spirit is grain and the finished product has quite a punchy ABV of 43.4%. Unique is an overused and often misused adjective but I think it is fair to say that Flora Adora is like nothing else on the market and for that alone is worth a try.
The spirit is housed in the familiar Hendrick’s dumpy, circular apothecary-style bottle with its short neck and cork stopper, using dark glass against which the pinky-orange labelling stands out well. The label includes an image of the all-seeing eyes of a butterfly to reinforce the message that the gin finds its inspiration from the cretaures that we are encouraged to attract to our gardens.
The usual Hendrick’s quality is assured and if you like sweet, floral gins this will float your boat. For me, though, I like to taste my juniper.
