This entry from New England Distilling is a lot like its neighbor from Freeport, Cold River Gin. It has a rich warm flavor, much closer to an old-style genever than we usually see from London dry gins. In some ways, Ingenium Gin drinks like a whiskey.
For me, Ingenium is a sipping gin. Its malty complexity invites analysis and contemplation. It is intriguing on every level, and not at all shy. It responds well to different bitters. I thought it was especially fun with Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters.
Ingenium Gin is not your dad's London Dry Gin. I didn't care for it 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 beats up on most Dry Vermouth but responds well to Sweet Vermouth, even the robust Carpano Antica. It makes an especially intriguing Pink Gin.
Ingenium offers some great opportunities for exploring classic cocktails as they might have been made before the market was sterilized by the mass-market London Dry Gins of the last 60 years.
Ingenium Dry Gin won the Platinum "Best of Class" award at the 2012 Spirits International Prestige (SIP) Awards in Irvine, CA on 14 July 2012.