Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin is crafted in Holland by the same family that brought us Ketel One Vodka. But the Nolet’s are not newcomers to the category, as the Nolet family has been producing gin since 1691. Nolet’s Silver is much different than your standard London Dry Gin, as it eschews a strong juniper base for one that’s very floral and fruit-forward. Some of its unique botanicals include Turkish rose petals, peaches and raspberries.
On the nose, it’s lush and perfumy, with the fruit hiding behind that big, brash dose of Turkish rose. Take a sip and you’ll find some of that fruit, including a nice hint of citrus mingling with the sweet peaches. It finishes clean and dry, but the flower petals linger on the tongue for close to 10 minutes. It’s certainly an aromatic, flavorful gin, but Nolet’s was perhaps a bit too heavy handed with the roses. That said, the unique botanicals do give the drinker plenty of opportunities for crafting cocktails.
Nolet’s “Cupboard to Cocktail” program encourages bartenders and home enthusiasts to consider ingredients found in their cabinets, which can be utilized all year long. First up, Nolet’s recommends sour cherry marmalade in this riff on the Old Fashioned.
Nolet’s Silver New Fashioned
2 oz Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin
2 tsp. sour cherry marmalade
2 dashes Angostura BittersShake all ingredients with ice, then strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.
That’s a pretty nice drink. The sour cherry marmalade itself is delicious (nice call, Nolet’s), and the marmalade plays well with the gin’s floral characteristics. We still contend that Nolet’s floral makeup is overly done, but it provides an interesting application in cocktails that can’t be replicated with traditional-style gins. And with that, we look forward to sampling Nolet’s next Cupboard to Cocktail recommendation.
Stats:
– 47.6% Alcohol by Volume
– $50
CE Rating: ★★★★
Pretty bottle and a very steep price! Terrible for Martinis and G&T’s over powers everything. Closest I’ve come to throwing away a bottle of gin. I will go back to Blue Sapphire, Tanqueray, Beefeaters, etc. One man’s opinion
Hey Roger – Lots of places carry it in the LA area. For specific stores, you can try using the Nolet’s Gin Finder, here:
http://www.noletsgin.com/find_nolets.php
Good luck.
I will be in the Thousand Oaks, Ca area for Christmas and would like to get a bottle of Nolet’s for my daughter-in-law. Can you tell me where to find it in that area? I looked in a few stores when I was there in Sept. with no luck. Thanks, Roger
I think Nolet’s is interesting, but it certainly doesn’t do well in my dirty martini. For that I will take either bottling of Martin Miller’s awesome gins, though given a choice it’ll be Westbourne Strength…and neither is as expensive as Nolet’s. Nolet’s actually makes me wonder what the definition of gin is. I thought it was a predominance of juniper, but that botanical doesn’t even make a peep in Nolet’s.
I agree that’s it’s really floral, but I like it. Most other gins are too piney. I think nolet’s is a nice change of pace from your beefeaters and tanqs of the world.