Here’s an old review that I did on Plymouth…
Plymouth Gin made in Plymouth, England is bottled
at 82 proof/41.2% abv and is distilled in the Black Friars Distillery, the
oldest working distillery in England.
The name and style are protected and Plymouth
is the only brand that can call itself a Plymouth
style gin. I think that Plymouth
is one of the best gins out there. I am usually into aromatic gins full of big
botanicals and juniper, Plymouth
doesn’t have that great, big slam of some other gins but is light,
exceptionally smooth, creamy, and subtle with little bite. Probably in part due
to the extremely soft Dartmouth
water used in the distillation process. It has a hint of sweetness and the
seven botanicals give it a fruity note with a big aroma, but it’s also crisp
and dry. It’s hard to describe, but very nice. It’s what I consider to have the
classic gin taste. Interestingly enough Plymouth
is the gin specified in the original dry martini. Plymouth also makes a higher strength version
at 114 proof/57% abv called “Navy Strength” as well as some other
products but I haven’t tried them yet.
As a side note: I originally heard about this gin
in John H. McDonald’s
mystery books on Travis
McGee where Travis the hero is known to have ice cold mugs of Plymouth on
the rocks as the way to end a perfect day. After the fabulous description I had
to search Plymouth
out to try it and I recommend McDonald’s excellent books as much as I do Plymouth gin.
