I’m a food or drink connoisseur. But I’m not someone with a refined palette who can tell the difference between something having notes of coffee versus notes of leather. Instead I prefer to focus on whether or not something is good. My approach was best stated by the philosopher Montgomery Burns: “I know what I hate, and I don’t hate this”.
Here we answer a fundamental question of life: “should you drink this?”
What I’m drinking: Himbrimi Old Tom Gin. Old Tom is a style of gin that died during prohibition. It tends to be a bit sweeter and maltier than most dry gins, and drier than most sweet gins. Unlike most spirits, there really aren’t many rules about what qualifies as an Old Tom beyond the juniper and most producers are attempting to recreate lost recipes. This results in there being a lot of variation in the beverage.
Himbrimi is an Icelandic distiller, which explains why they don’t provide much information about themselves on their website. But, according to legend the distiller himself goes in picks the botanicals personally from the river banks every summer. Elves and trolls might be involved somehow.
The color: Brown.
The flavor: Gin, but brown.
My initial thoughts: This tastes like a gin that spent too much time hanging out with the whiskies. Strong botanicals, especially on the back end. Much more upfront flavor and just plain more.
Mix with: All the normal gin mixers. Or straight up. But nothing with too much flavor, the or it will compete instead of enhance.
Drink this if you like: Gin, but wish it tasted stronger.
Pair with: Wanderlust.
Good for beginners? Not really. The flavors are a bit intense.
Recommended cocktail: Gin and Tonic. Martini.
Cost: $40
Budget Alternative: Dry gin mixed with Genever.
Who would like this: People who like gin and want to try something new. People who like to display their booze. People who want to show off their travel. People who prefer their gin to be the sole focus of the drink.
Did my wife like this: Yes.
Fun facts to make you sound smart or interesting when you’re drinking it: Old Tom supposedly gets its name from signs featuring a black cat. Despite what Mighty Ducks 2 might have you believe, Iceland is a beautiful country full of nice people who are not especially good at hockey. Hverabrauð, or thunder bread as it’s also known, is bread that is baked by burying it in a geothermal spring.
How to get this: Go to Iceland. I recommend doing so around the solstice. The distillery website also has links to a bunch of places that sell it online, but that’s not as good.
Ideal location for drinking:
Should you drink this: Yes.
I like your layman’s approach to this. My husband owns a shmancy pants bar (and actually bartends at another one) and I can barely be in a conversation with any of them. He’s good at knowing what I like, which is often just liquor on the rocks, but I never know what it is haha (I’m not a big cocktails person because I don’t really like sweet stuff usually).
I’ve never seen brown gin before. I’ll have to try it out – I like gin so the intensity might be fun.
I always thought brown gin was sloe gin, a liqueur?
The brown part mostly just means it was aged. Sloe gin is sloe berries soaked in gin and sugar.
Sloe gin is what the kids drank mixed with Seven Up at family gatherings when I was growing up. The younger you were the less sloe gin you got. it was our version of a Shirley temple, I don’t think it has much alcohol in it, but I haven’t had it for many, many years, so I might be wrong.
Haha I don’t know dick about butts when it comes to alcohol. Just know what I like to pour in my booze-hole.
I saw this comment out of context on the dashboard and lol’d.
Gin is my jam. I would definitely try this. Though I am curious if it tastes tooooo juniper-y? Like a Christmas tree.
Off topic but there is a Greek wine I like called Retsina that IS LIKE drinking a tree. Maybe more a pine tree than Christmas tree.
Mmmm treeeeee.
Looks interesting!
It’s not overpoweringly juniper flavored. The best way I can describe it is to imagine a photoshop color panel, but for botanicals. Now bump most of those sliders up a bit, without picking and choosing because you live in Iceland and only certain colors grow there.
This is an amazing metaphor. I’m going to clone stamp it. Which is to say, I’m going to do it myself but poorly and everyone will notice.
…you mean this jam?
https://www.thedrinkshop.com/item/14918/pinkster-gin-jam
Well that looks delightful!
I’ve been known to make these on a special occasion to rave reviews:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/162319/earl-grey-martini/
I’m not a gin drinker but my daughter is. She’d love this. I bookmarked it to send to her later.
Mar-TEA-nis!
ba dum dum
I love this column. Cocktails are sophisticated by default.
Cocktails are midlevel sophistication. Drinking straight high quality booze is the top of the food chain. That said, I never pass up an interesting cocktail.
Never heard of aged gin before this moment but now I must have it. Sounds great, actually. Nice find.