Review: Another Hendrick’s Gin

Hendrick’s seems to have no trouble coming up with names for its line extensions, with monikers like Oasium and Neptunia a couple of its recent drops. What then do you call Hendrick’s first permanent line extension in nine years? (Orbium was the last to get full-time treatment.) Well, Another Hendrick’s is as good a name as any, I suppose.

Sealed in a white bottle that evokes a ceramic design (it’s really white paint on glass), Another Hendrick’s starts with the standard Hendrick’s recipe, including its signature infusion of rose and cucumber, and adds in additional botanicals: orange blossom and cacao beans.

As with all of Hendrick’s most unusual libations, Another Hendrick’s was developed by Master Distiller Lesley Gracie, who pondered what she might do if she were creating Hendrick’s again today. Inspired by her love for chocolate and flowers, and with a penchant to look beyond the obvious and make the improbable possible – just as she did with Hendrick’s original – Lesley set out to solve the creative conundrum of creating a gin containing cacao. The result was Another’s Hendrick’s, which enhances Hendrick’s beloved profile with velvety rich notes of cacao and light citrus elements.

“Another Hendrick’s is the complete opposite of what we’ve been doing for the past 25 years, and the delectable combination of orange blossom and cacao beans is really rather unusual,” says Lesley Gracie. “As a spirit with endless possibilities, I wanted to find a way to combine two of my favorite things in a way that felt authentic to Hendrick’s. After experimenting with different elements from the Hendrick’s Gin Palace’s tropical greenhouse, I discovered this brilliant profile featuring a depth of flavor, hint of sweetness and lift of freshness that is completely distinctive.”

Since inception, duality has been deeply ingrained in Hendrick’s DNA. Distilled in not one, but two utterly dissimilar sorts of stills then finished with a delicious duet of rose and cucumber, it’s in true Hendrick’s fashion to take two things and create something sublimely distinctive and different. The release of Another Hendrick’s supercharges this ethos, and now, there’s a beyond-the-obvious gourmet combination of orange blossom and cacao that tastes and feels very Hendrick’s indeed. A celebration of the duality that exists not only in the brand, but in all of us, the launch of the new expression marks the start of an extraordinary year ahead for Hendrick’s, dotted with experiential events set to redefine the category once more.

Consider my curiosity piqued. Let’s give it a try.

Another Hendrick’s Gin Review

The nose indicates nothing wildly unusual, at least for Hendrick’s, with an equal mix of juniper and florals, mostly dried, offering a heavily perfumed quality that’s in line with the original. The orange blossom addition is evident to a degree, but given that Hendrick’s already has plenty of floral components to start with, the citrus element is less obvious than you might expect.

On the tongue you’re in for a surprise, as it’s the chocolate addition that arrives immediately. Chocolate in gin is absolutely a surprise, and it’s one of those things that you have to taste to decide if it works — and which will absolutely be cocktail dependent. For its part, Hendrick’s suggests variations on spritzes and G&Ts with this product and definitely not martinis, though I could see dropping this into more juice-forward cocktails like a cosmopolitan in lieu of vodka.

The cocoa notes are bittersweet and evocative of Mexican chocolate, and as the palate develops they fade into the background, letting a more traditional gin character do at least some of the heavy lifting. Green herbs, heavy on the juniper, dominate for a time, but the finish again sees more chocolate notes, darker this time, coming into focus. Aromatic and perfumed on the fade-out, eventually things settle back into a heady, perfumed groove where the orange blossoms are at their clearest.

One to experiment with — especially if you have sparkling wine on hand to play with.

88 proof.

A- / $35

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