Three Amigos, Part II: (For a Few Dollars Less) …
For those of you who sampled last week’s very agreeable distillation, Wint & Lila – either in spirit or merely via the blog, then the second instalment of our Spanish trio may well also prove a hit; possibly even offering a little more muscle, as did Clint Eastwood’s gritty sixties sequel: For a Few Dollars More.
Like “The Man with No Name” and Lee Van Cleef’s sharp dressed gunslinger, the Nordes Atlantic Galician Gin bottle again presents a stony faced appearance; though this time it reveals its country of origin with a dot matrix world map which would look at home in the lobby of some international chemical company.
Apart from the price variation, the main difference from last week’s Cadiz Kid is the use of an Albarino Grape spirit as a base: giving echoes of Italian Grappa production. Then, sampling its Galician roots in the country’s north-west, Nordes Atlantic uses successive distillations to blend in such indigenous botanicals as lemon peel, Eucalyptus, Verbena and Samphire, while the likes of liquorice and hibiscus also get in on the act.
As well as detecting mint, industry experts suggest that juniper is part of the finale rather than the overture, and that this sophisticated gin has a maritime flavour to it – which might in part be due to the inclusion of the samphire, which also featured for the Cornish Lantic Gin which Juliet reviewed last year. Nordes isn’t, however, as redolent of coastal climes as the Sidmouth Sea Truffle which we purchased another bottle of during a recent stay in the resort.
Although the 40% ABV Nordes Atlantic doesn’t deliver the initial hit of the Blackwoods dry gin which we compared to a Grappa, it is definitely a gin with a lot of character, as well as the potential to work as successfully in cocktails or long with ice. Even neat if you prefer – I can just see a tot glass whizzing down the bar into Clint’s steely grasp.
