Produced using wild botanicals that are grown and picked near the Glendalough distillery, this entry for the Ginvitational is a craft gin from Ireland - a rare non domestic product in the lineup. Small batches are the name of the game for Glendalough, as each of these bottles comes from a 250 liter or less batch. Let's dive in.
Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin seems to wear many hats at once. Juniper-notes, floral-notes and spice-notes come in seemingly three separate waves. The palate is distinctly green in character and I’d characterize it overall as incredibly plant-based. Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin is somewhere between the herbal world and the floral world.
Many so-called “new wave” gins try very hard to bury the juniper or distract from it. Glendalough instead achieves a unique balance of flavors, and while that nuance could perhaps use a few additional proof to stand up in a Gin and Tonic, it nevertheless rivals some of the better UK gins out there.
Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.
House Review
Nose:
Wild and grassy, tons of character that reminds me of fresh prairie grass, anise, strong juniper, a hint of orange peel and coriander.
Taste:
Thin mouth feel but sweet and buttery. Peach, lovely pepper, a hint of herbal sweetness and juniper mingle nicely with each other.
Finish:
Long finish with plenty of spice. Quite a bit of character on the finish here, highlighting a lot of notes that I liked best from the palate, notably the grassy character and some light fruits.
Overall:
Quite enjoyable. Despite a thinner mouth feel than I'd like, this managed to impress plenty well with a unique palette of flavors. There's a lot going on in this one, and I'm encouraged by this expression.
Score:
85
By T8ke
Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
Get the inside scoop on the latest & greatest spirit releases in our daily newsletter.
