“Made with organic hard red winter wheat from Washington Island, WI. Simple – Local – Exceptional” – Death’s Door Gin Bottle
I ran into John from Death’s Door about a month ago. Having already tasted their awesome White Whiskey, I was thrilled when he handed me new bottling of the Death’s Door Gin. It should be noted that I have been a gin fan since the beginning of my alcoholic life. There was always something subtly classy to me about ordering a Gin and Tonic as I walked into any bar, no matter how scummy. It should also be noted that many gins are venomous drinks that stink of chemicals and taste like aftershave. I approach every new gin with caution, but when I find a pleasing product on the market, I am thrilled to tears to add it to my collection.
Death’s Door Gin, is created with locally grown wheat, locally collected organic juniper berries native to Washington Island, Wisconsin, and a mix of organic botanicals from the area. Being an advocate of locally sourced products, I was excited to taste this treat.
All of my taste-tests are conducted in relatively the same way. I pour roughly 50 millilitres at room temperature into a glass, neat. I then conduct the first wave of critique. If the producer has specific requests for their product (splash of warm water, rocks, tonic, etc,), I prepare it that way and repeat the test.
The bottle is one of the more interesting packages that I have seen in a while. The bottle takes the form of an old apothecary bottle. The round neck and shoulder of the bottle crimps and flattens slightly at the base giving the bottle a very stout appearance on the shelf. The label design uses multiple text types and sizes and harkens back to a day where alcoholic elixirs were used to cure ailments of the body, not just as a cure for problems of the soul. The beautiful addition of an antiquated map at the base of the product description is enhanced by the font trailing off of the sides of the map, making the viewer feel as though this product was not just made in Wisconsin, but that this product was made with Wisconsin.
The juniper-pine familiarity is the first thing that reaches the nose with subtle notes of citrus, fennel, and peppermint or hyssop. There is a surprising emergence of bay-leaves, rosebud, and sage as the drink aerates. It is, however, a mouthful of a gin. The juniper flavor hits hard (perhaps a bit too aggressive for some new to gin or juniper-phobes) and then is trailed by some softer cues of coriander/citrus. The strange, but welcome aromas of peppermint, sage, and other more subtle botanicals are all but overpowered by the juniper on the palate. There isn’t the complexity in Death’s Door that many may seek out in gin making this taster believe that this is a bit more accessible to the masses than other potpourri-heavy brews. The finish is long but quickly falls back into the basic juniper until nearly 3 minutes after the initial taste when the rosebud and citrus come back for a curtain call, bow, and make their exit.
Whatever is in Washington Island soil is really taking an almost surprising lead on nearly all aspects of this gin. For those readers who seek out extremely powerful juniper flavors in their gin, than this is definitely one to check out. It is basic and easy on the mind as well as the palate.
Death's Door Gin Bottle
Dedicated Spirits 