Filed under: Cocktails, Gin, Raves & Reviews, Trends, Happy Hour, America, Europe, France, Spirits

Citadelle is billed as a super premium gin. It has 19 botanicals, is distilled three times, and is sold a beautifully decorated bottle with ships at sea and a label strip around the bottom of the bottle showing each of the 19 botanicals which are used in making it. The botanicals listed are savory, nutmeg, angelica, cumin, cinnamon, almond, iris root, juniper, fennel, violet root, paradise grain, orange peel, cardamon, star anise, cubeb, coriander, lemon peel, cassia, and licorice.

A few months ago on my initial taste test I thought it was almost too smooth and light with no evidence of any of the 19 botanicals, just a strong and unusual taste. My impression of the flavors started to develop and became more solid as I drank it in several ways: straight, chilled, on the rocks, and shaken. I was so amazed by what I experienced that I had to call my friend and fellow blogger, Joe DiStefano, late one evening in my mildly buzzed state to talk about it.

My taste buds were totally confused. The Citadelle gin tasted like stainless steel and platinum, with an aseptic plastic core, with a tinge of melted plastic. The more I drank the more I noticed the flavors and aromas. It reminded me of a combination of two jobs I had as a teenager. One was when I worked in a hospital and sterilized the operating rooms and surgical instruments in an autoclave. The other when I worked in a hospital supply warehouse, and caustic cleaning chemicals would sometimes come in contact with plastic, burning and melting it. The other smell/taste I associate with it is freebase/crack cocaine, a horrible but compelling odor I smelled many times as a teen stalking the nighttime streets and clubs of NYC. It seemed that odor was very present in this gin. I kept vacillating between whether I liked or hated this gin depending upon what flavors were most evident. I liked it when the metallic flavors were stronger and hated it when the plastic came to the fore.

I kept going back to this bottle over the next few days and weeks and slowly my perception of the sense of plastic changed into a more floral notes. This gin was definitely a learning experience for me, since the botanicals used give it such an unusual taste that it was one I had never associated with gin before. Looking back after a few months I realize that another of the French gins, Magellan, has a similar style. My perception of the taste has come around and all the flavors I originally interpreted as plastic have now been become pleasurable, sharp, floral notes in a most unusual tasting gin. I like this gin on the rocks fairly well, but prefer it in a martini or in a G n T.