Review #: 496
Description: Monkey 47
Spirit: Gin
Background: Monkey 47 is a Schwarzwald Dry Gin coming from Black Forest Distillers in Germany. I was able to join a group to do a virtual tasting with a distillery rep (I purchased the bottle myself) and got to learn about the brand and the spirit. Interestingly, they use molasses as the source for the spirit. They are a fairly small operation, but they take great pride in the final product and use very high quality ingredients. It is fairly available, but when a store will have tons of options around $20-$30 a bottle, this comes in around $70 . So is it worth the premium?
Distillery – Black Forest Distillers
Bottler – Black Forest Distillers
Brand – Monkey 47
Selection – N/A
ABV – 47%
Age – Unaged
Nose – Tons of botanicals but all working harmoniously, peppercorn, orange blossom, wild flowers, sweet raspberries, sandalwood, sweet lemon, nicely integrated juniper
Taste – Sweet but not overly, rose water, juniper, citrus, creamy flavor and texture
Finish – Almost a bit of nuttiness with roasted almonds, lime zest, sweet juniper, sweet cream, some of that molasses influence coming in? A sweet spot of proof
Score: 8
Would I buy a bottle? Yes
Thoughts: Great execution. I know they use a ton of botanicals but I can’t remember all of them, but they work really well together. This has the complexity rarely seen in gin that makes it wonderful and rewarding to sip, while also having the perfect qualities you want in a gin for cocktailing. Seriously, this makes some of the best mixed drinks you could ask for. Don’t feel bad in making drinks with high quality ingredients.