Seventh Heaven Canadian London Dry Gin (43%)
Continuing through our present #TariffTimes, I’m branching these reviews out to beyond whisky — although I do still have several of those awaiting review. Anyone who knows me will also know that, as omnibibulous as I may be, I do love a good martini or gin and tonic, so there are always a few bottles of gin in the liquor cabinet, usually including my default go-to, Beefeater London Dry Gin.
Based on my experience chronicled below, however, I think I just might have a new candidate for the rotation!
This new-to-me gin was recommended by Kyle Smith, and I’m grateful for the tip, as I hadn’t previously noticed it at my local LCBO. (Although packaged in a rather striking, and oddly quite heavy, bottle, it was positioned near the end of the aisle and on the bottom shelf on the gin section.) It comes from a Québec distillery about which I have been able to find precious little other than: a) It is a relatively young operation, as it didn’t exist when Christine Sismondo and I were researching our book, Canadian Spirits; and b) It is very much a gin specialist.
A quick scan of the Seventh Heaven website does reveal a few interesting bits and pieces, though. Like the fact that the ingredients used in the distillery’s four gins range from the standard, such as juniper and orris root, to the unconventional, including Labrador tea, basil, and thyme. Another interesting note is that Seventh Heaven also produces two lines of gin-based RTDs, or ready-to-drink cocktails, one of gin fizzes and the other of G&Ts, either of which which even an RTD sceptic like myself might be curious to try.
But enough background. On to the bottle.
For a gin attesting to the London Dry style, this has a fascinating aroma – part peppery juniper, part fiercely herbaceous, part berry-ish. The initial hit is all juniper, of a fruity-peppery sort that speaks perhaps to a unique sourcing of berries, but that is soon joined by a fragrant, fruity perfume, which the back of the bottle reveals to be elderberries. Eventually joining it all is an herbal character that calls to mind, of all things, thyme and rosemary, maybe even tarragon.
(A later look at the distillery website reveals that thyme is indeed one of the botanicals used.)
The palate entry is fruity at first, a mix of floral elderberry, hints of fresh red apple, and juniper berry. On the mid-palate, however, peppery juniper comes straight to the fore, tempered by the persistent elderberry perfume, which makes it round and full, but still unapologetically London Dry. Eventually, the fruity notes begin to fade, replaced by peppery juniper, soft citrus, and floral herb notes, all culminating in a finish that is spicy, dry, and curiously warming beyond its 43% alcohol.
Overall, this is a wonderfully complex gin that would be equally at home in a dry martini as it would be in almost any more complicated gin-based cocktail. Kudos to the folk at Seventh Heaven!
88 ($38 -$40)