Clean G

This arrived in an elegant concertina of cardboard inside a cardboard sheath.  The bottle was as green as its packaging, in the classic gin colour, and was an absolutely beautiful ribbed hexagonal shape.  This drink had me even before I unscrewed the flat matt silver lid (a lot of thought has gone into its design).  But then, oh, that lovely gin smell wafted out at me, that almost eau de cologne marrying of alcohol and juniper. This contains less than 0.5% alcohol and I don’t know how they’ve managed to create the effect they have.  I’ve been sitting sniffing back and forth between this bottle and a classic Gordons at 40% ABV, and have to say that Clean G has the better nose-appeal.  It’s a fabulous drink too, with rich botanical and juniper scents. It’s not your classic gin and tonic – that must always be said – but it comes pretty close in feel. Everything about this works.  So far (there are always more spirit-substitutes being developed) this is my top choice for a gin replacement.