Review: The Gardener Gin

Most gins don’t usually debut at film festivals. Then again, most gins aren’t made in collaboration with Brad Pitt, the elder-hunk movie star and infamous figment of Ed Norton’s imagination (sorry, spoilers). His new gin, The Gardener, walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival last year and just recently came to the U.S. It all makes more sense when you read the marketing. To wit:

The Gardener Gin is a London Dry gin that celebrates the lushness and light of the French Riviera with a fresh citrus taste. Radiating the French Riviera spirit around the world – with an unconventional blend of both fresh and dry citruses – The Gardener Gin celebrates incomparable art-de-vivre that the exceptional Cannes Festival has embodied for over half a century.

Celebrity sponsors aren’t the only heavy hitters behind this brand. Tom Nichol, the distiller who created Tanqueray No. 10, came out of retirement to design the spirt. As for what’s in the bottle, we know it’s certified organic and distilled from wheat with a gin bill that includes bitter orange Bigarade, sweet orange, and pink grapefruit, all supposedly grown locally in the French Riviera. Let’s check it out.

The aroma is, as advertised, quite citrus-forward with big, juicy notes of grapefruit and blood orange up top. Soft undertones of fresh juniper retain the London Dry dimension, but this is probably one of the fruitier expressions of the style I’ve encountered. As it opens, the citrus begins to fade slightly, giving things a more classic profile with more pepper, currants, and dry spices at work. On the palate, The Gardener is impressively plush, coating the tongue in classic notes of pine needles and resin before things sweeten on the midpalate with fresh-squeezed tangerine juice and candied grapefruit. Round and silky, there’s still enough peppercorn on the finish to add some verve and accentuate lingering notes of mint and juniper berry. It doesn’t quite transport me to a yacht cruise on the Riviera. But it does make a solid cocktail.

84 proof.

A- / $45

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