Magellan Iris Flavoured Gin is a French spirit imported into North America by Crillon Importers Ltd. The gin is named to pay homage to Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer whose expeditions on behalf of King Charles I of Spain, led to the first circumnavigation of the globe. Magellan’s travels were in search of a westward route to the Spice Islands (also known as the Maluka Islands of Indonesia). Magellan’s Expedition around the world brought back three barrels of cloves (although Ferdinand Magellan died before the trip was completed), and apparently cloves are an important ingredient in the overall flavour profile of the Magellan Gin.
Of course there is much more than cloves in the botanical mixture of this blue gin. In all eleven botanicals are listed on the Magellan Gin website. The gin itself is produced from a wheat based neutral spirit which was generated from a three column still. The botanicals (except for the Iris flower) are wrapped in a special cloth and added to the neutral spirit which is then distilled for a fourth time in small batches upon a small artisanal copper pot still. After this fourth distillation, the gin is infused with Iris Root and Flower. The Iris flower imparts the lovely blue colour to the gin during this process.
In my review I became aware that the Iris flower imparted strong floral flavours to the gin which have an almost perfume-like intensity. This strong intense ‘hyacinth-like’ aroma and flavour winds through the spirit making sipping and cocktail construction difficult. I settled on making tall soda filled mixed drinks which tasted quite nice, but abandoned finer cocktails like the Lime Gimlet and the Gin Martini.
When making a Gin and Tonic for this challenge, I found I had to have a higher ration of Tonic Water to Gin than I usually like to settle down the intense flavour of the Iris flower. (I usually like my gin to tonic ratio to be almost 1:1)
As a result of the difficulties I had trying to mix a strong Gin and Tonic and finally settling for a weaker one, My G&T Score for the Magellan Iris Flavoured Gin was 79/100 pts.
I have constructed a separate page to keep a running tally of all scores as they are published, and you may refer to that page here:
Rum Howler 2014 Gin and Tonic Challenge
As well you may read my published review of Beefeater here:
Beefeater London Dry Gin
There is a growing movement in the past ten years by American distillers (particularly small micro distillers) to produce a new North American style of gin (American Dry Gin) which is less dependent upon juniper than traditional London Dry Gin. The new American Dry Gin is an attempt to feature a broader and more balanced flavour profile, and the chances are that some of you have already encountered and enjoyed this new style of gin. Although this new type of gin is still in its evolutionary phase, it promises to bring more variety into the gin category, and perhaps offers a new take on the classic Gin and Tonic.
Tanqueray Gin
Caorunn Gin (a product of 
The Rum Howler Blog 