Cold River Gin

I have been curious about this new artisanal gin from Maine for about a year now. I sampled it first at Le Garage in Wiscasset and found it too richly flavored for a Martini, but I never pursued the topic. Then my brother brought me a bottle so I was compelled to delve into serious research. Here's what I found out:

Cold River Gin is not a Genever, but it is closer to that old style of gin than any London Dry Gin I have tried. the flavor is still distinctly gin, but with a citrus opening followed by long earthy, woodsy flavors with a distinct warmth from cardamom.

Cold River Gin is almost sui generis. It (and its neighbor Ingenium Gin) are not your dad's London Dry Gin, nor are they Genevers. For starters, Cold River's base alcohol comes from Maine potatoes, just like their Cold River Vodka. The citrus dominates the front, and the juniper comes in with the woodsy flavors for a real northwoods evocation. The cardamom adds that warmth that makes it interesting and peculiar.

I still don't care for Cold River Gin in a Martini, but it does well in many cocktails that employ lemon or orange juice (like the Monkey Gland). Some like it with lime, especially in a Gin and Tonic. It makes an intriguing Pink Gin.

Inspired by this gin's earthy-spicy flavor profile, I tried it in a Kup's Indispensable cocktail, and a Wild Rose, both members of the 3:1:1 family of Martini-style cocktails, and it was delicious! The difference is simple: the addition of Sweet Vermouth and a dash of Angostura bitters brings those spicy notes into line like a barbershop quartet in a four-part harmony.

Then I tried something a little stranger - I made a Pink Gin but instead of Angostura bitters I used Forest Floor bitters from Eden, Wisconsin. It was awesome! I want to explore this gin with many different types of bitters, as well as the cocktails with the sweet vermouth/dry vermouth combination. 

Cold River Gin is a little pricey for an everyday gin (if you're an everyday gin drinker...) but it does add some great opportunities for exploring classic cocktails as they might have been made before the market was saturated by the mass-market London Dry Gins of the last 60 years.