It’s sort if ironic that my spirits blog would start out with so many posts about Gin. I never really considered myself a gin drinker and would often defer to bourbon, tequila or mezcal based drinks. Perhaps that’s why I’ve been on sort of a quest to find a gin that I really like.
So far I’ve had one pretty solid hit with the Organic Nation gin (based in Ashland Oregon), which I found light, flavorful and incredibly easy to mix with.
Small’s Gin by Ransom Cellers (also located in Oregon) hasn’t been as easy a slam dunk for me. Small’s Gin made a huge impression with me when I first tasted it during a tasting session I had with whiskey guru Lance Mayhew. Unfortunately that impression wasn’t necessarily a good one. Many gin’s I’ve tasted have had pretty pronounced juniper notes, but Small’s swaps out the juniper for cardamom. This is a really interesting choice and results in a distinctively unique spirit, but the cardamom is so strong it’s hard to see how it can be tamed in a mixed drink.
I put the Small’s challenge to Brian Gilbert at the Teardrop Lounge who tried to mix his way past the harsh and unreasonably long cardamom finish of this gin. While Brian made an admiral attempt it seemed almost impossible for anything to find its way past such a strong and harsh finish. It’s possible that they named Small’s Gin after the fact that it’s so strong you really don’t need that much of it… any more than 1/8th of an oz and you’ve got a cardamom battle on your hands.
At heart I think the Small’s gin is an interesting idea, the gin’s label talks about other notes they’ve worked to cultivate in the gin including: orange, lemon, coriander, angelica, caraway, star anise, and raspberry. Many of those notes are in there but are overpowered by the cardamom. I’d love to see Ransom Cellars enhance the citrus and berry flavors and better balance the spice of the cardamom with the caraway and star anise. Underneath that monster of cardamom lies a potentially good gin.
Small’s Gin is 86 proof and is distilled by Ransom Cellars. They also make an Old Tom Gin that I hope to sample at some point. They have a nice video up on youtube showing off their still.
Drink Spirits Rating for Small’s Gin:
