Review: Bloom London Dry Gin   (90.5/100)
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on February 20, 2017

Bloom is a London Dry Gin created by Master Distiller, Joanne Moore. The spirit is intended to be a floral gin which, although it has a secret botanical recipe, relies on four botanicals in particular: juniper berries from Tuscany; chamomile from France; and honeysuckle and pomelo from China for the main essence of its flavour.

According to Joanne Moore:

Honeysuckle provides a special sweetness that’s a bit like candied fruit, and it’s this that delivers the gin’s unparalleled sweetness. I balanced this with calming chamomile to hold the flavour together and rounded it off with citrus notes from the pomelo.

Bloom Gin is a product of G&J Distillers (Greenall) and is sold at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle  4.5/5

Bloom arrives in the tall green tinted bottle shown to the left. The rectangular bottle is widened at the bottom for stability and features an ivy-like embossing on the front of the bottle no doubt to highlight the floral nature of the gin and perhaps to give the presentation a feminine touch.

I like the fact that it is cork sealed rather than sealed with a metallic screw cap. This helps to elevate the presentation. I should note that the year 1761 is embossed on the bottom of the bottle to highlight the year that G&J Distillers began to prepare and blend gin.

All in all this is a solid presentation which would certainly catch my attention in a retail setting.

In the Glass 9/10

My initial impression as I nose the gin for the first time is that the spirit has a very light spring-like theme which is very appealing. The breezes bring me a bouquet of pansies and wild flowers plucked from a garden meadow. These floral scents are not heavy and full of perfume, rather they are firm but light and refreshing in the air above the glass. The floral notes are accompanied by bright citrus notes (lemon and grapefruit) with everything wrapped around a light but firm juniper presence. Light earthy notes of angelica and licorice root seem to lurk within the aroma softening the citrus and giving the spirit balance.

The only other gin from G&J which I have reviewed is the Berkeley Square (see review here) and the two seem to share a common theme of spring-like freshness. Although I find Bloom to be a lighter gin than Berkeley Square, nevertheless the two have a common characteristic in that the combination of botanicals within each serve to complement the predominant juniper rather than to confuse it.

In the Glass 54/60

The first sip reveals juniper and lightly bitter angelica root dominating lightly across the palate which gives the spirit a soft by firm earthiness. There is perhaps a touch of spicy coriander and black pepper present and these impressions are followed by accents of lemon and grapefruit citrus. Then the floral nature of the spirit kicks in with impressions of white lilies and colorful pansies as well as mild flavours of chamomile and honeysuckle. I find the juniper is complemented rather than diminished by the floral and citrus components. In a word, the gin is lovely.

Sipping the gin is quite nice, but I thought I should experiment a little on the cocktail front and so I began with a favourite cocktail of mine, the Sentimental Lady (see recipe below), which mixed gin with equal parts lemon and lime and orange Curacao. The results were so good that I decided to have another before retiring for the evening. The next day I tried a Gin Martini and was again pleased with the result. Although I do not usually recommend floral gins in Martinis, the Bloom with its light floral appeal seems almost hand designed for the martini glass.

In the Throat 14/15

Bloom gin is light and easy to sip. There is no undo astringency nor is there any burn even without ice. The exit is brings the angelica root into focus along with a light licorice root flavour. Just enough citrus and floral flavour follows though to keep the gin from tasting bitter.

The Afterburn 9/10

I am really attached to the light flavour of Bloom Gin. I was worried when I tasted the spirit that the juniper would be lost within its floral construct; but rather than finding the raetam diminished, I found its piny spirit had been complemented by the botanicals within the Bloom.

My final score of 91/100 reflects my appreciation of the Berkeley Square Gin which is of sipping quality, and is as well a great cocktail mixer (see recipes below).

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Suggested Recipes:

Sentimental Lady

2 oz Bloom London Dry Gin
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Bols Triple Sec)
3/8 oz Lemon Juice
3/8 oz Lime Juice
3/8 oz Sugar Syrup
Ice
Citrus Peel

Place the five ingredients in a metal cocktail shaker with ice
Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Add orange peel coil for Garnish

Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret that score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing spirit.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)