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

Tanqueray No. Ten is bottled at 94.6 proof / 47.3 abv, and was first released in the year 2000. It already has a big fan base who have nicknamed it T-10. In some ways it is quite different from the norm in gin because it is made with whole, fresh picked fruit and botanicals, not dried. They include grapefruit, orange, lime, juniper, and chamomile among others. This is one of the new style gins that actually goes back to the genever roots where gin started, having big bold, sweet flavors. It is a heavy citrus and fruit forward gin with a bright aroma, and has a syrupy/glycerin consistency to it, making it feel very full and fat in your mouth. It's a gin with a lot of body to it. The T-10 flavors are very good, but I feel that the fruit and citrus overwhelm the juniper. I think gin must have juniper as at least a top note if not the main one. While at first I didn't care for it and was knocked back by the flavor and consistency, T-10 does grow on you, as long as you are not doing side by side taste tests with other gins. After a bit you don't notice the sweetness as much, and the thick body holds the aftertaste on your tongue quite well. Because of this it has a finish that lasts an extended period of time. T-10 makes only a decent martini, but it makes a great Gin and Tonic, and is even better suited to drinking on the rocks or straight up after being shaken and strained. The addition of water from the ice opens up the botanicals quite nicely to show off the flavors brilliantly. Mixing this gin with anything besides a good tonic seems a waste to me, but then I feel that way about any really good gin, as you will hear me say time and again. I was only slightly surprised when I heard that if you replace the vodka in a Cosmopolitan with T-No. 10 you get a much better drink.