Bulldog Gin London Dry Gin, 70cl

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Bulldog Gin may be “English,” but the botanical blend and influence is from a vastly different part of the world: People only see the glory [of success],” he says. “It’s this intoxication that fuels people to become entrepreneurs. But while the highs are great, the lows can hit depression levels. You feel the world closing in on you.” The Longan (or more dramatically Dragon Eye) is a small fruit similar to a Lychee native to Southeastern Asia. Believes to have a relaxing character in traditional medicine, it’s also common in modern Asian cuisine in soups and desserts. Lotus Leaves are another traditional medicine said to keep one’s heart healthy. The leaves are often drank as if a tea. And then there’s Poppy. More than just a bagel topping, it has healing abilities as well. But… Bulldog has much in common with it. And if you just want to have a nice gin and tonic to drink and relax it’s just really good choice. Not the most subtel or sophisticated but it has a really nice mixture of everything – juniper, botanicals, citrus etc. – it’s really nice balanced gin and gives you a pleasure of drinking a glass of nice, cool and realaxing gin&tonic.

There’s an unusual juxtaposition of branding and ingredients. While many brands might double down on the botanicals’ Asian provenance, Bulldog Gin instead cloaks it all in austerity and defiance. The Bulldog is an icon of British determination, and at times was used to describe Winston Churchill himself. The immediate sense is one of complexity. That sweetness from the nose is there, as is almost a bit of a citrusy tang. The earthiness remains there too upon taste. However, none of those particular flavours seem to dominate, and you’re left with that promised smoothness. How to serve Bulldog Gin My favourite serve was with a good Indian tonic water and a slice of grapefruit. That grapefruit just seemed to help cut through the lingering sweetness really nicely. If you don’t have a grapefruit handy, a lemon or lime will certainly work too. Fresh off the sale of Bulldog London Dry Gin to Gruppo Campari, one of the world’s largest spirit makers, former JP Morgan i-banker Anshuman Vohra knows a thing or two about beating the odds. Six years into a job handling telecom mergers and acquisitions in New York, Vohra got restless, and decided to take a calculated risk on rebranding old-fashioned gin for a hipper, more discerning consumer. Months of research led him to identify two major gaps that he’d need to plug to create a winning product: Improved taste, and a new “image and personality that excited people”.

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Bulldog Gin is at its best as a mixing gin, and it makes a good Gin and Tonic with almost any tonic.

The botanical mix includes some very unusual bedfellows to the usual suspects of juniper, orris, cassia, coriander, liquorice and angelica. Into the maceration pre-distillation go lavender from France, and white poppy from Turkey. From China come dragon eye (a fruit, similar to a lychee but less aromatic) and lotus leaves. Lemon and almonds from Spain complete the botanical list. Bulldog Gin review Bulldog is distilled on a base of triple distilled British wheat base, pot distilled and then bottled at 40% ABV. Tasting Notes The bar for gin has been raised significantly in the past decade. When it launched in 2007 there were far fewer gins doing what Bulldog is trying to do. I like a neat gin with a few ice cubes. You can serve Bulldog like that, but it wasn’t my preferred serve here. Having said that, I did give it quite a good run of different serves to try it out, and it’s a very forgiving gin in that sense. It’ll go well with many tonics.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s aged terribly well. The finish is short, and the curious choice of botanicals might escape even the most experienced gin taster if they weren’t called out on the bottle. The bottle promises that this is a gin that’s bold on the outside, smooth inside. I can’t argue with that. The mouthfeel and overall drinking sensation definitely delivers on smooth. There’s a real earthy linger to Bulldog too.

I was taken by the fruity and earthy notes first. The lemon definitely shows through, and maybe the dragon eye is what’s taking it off in what seems like quite a sweet direction. If you’ve tried the lovely Panda Gin (which is lychee-based), the aroma is quite like that. It’s very enticing. Manufactured in a distillery near Manchester in traditional copper pot stills, Bulldog solved the former by dialling down the juniper – the predominant ingredient in gin responsible for its bitter flavour – and reducing the ABV, or alcohol-by-volume, to 40 per cent, for a smoother finish. But it’s the infusion of 12 exotic botanicals, including Turkish white poppy, Chinese liquorice, Moroccan coriander and Asian lotus leaves, that gives the tipple its signature flavour. While Vohra worked with a master distiller to get the blend just right, the choice of ingredients was personal, influenced by his travels as the son of a diplomat. “It’s like the Silk Route – Eastern botanicals with Western know-how,” explains the 38-year-old, as we sit in his loft-like office in downtown Manhattan. Open that bottle and there’s immediately a wonderful aroma. Be careful opening it, mind. My bottle was very full. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, but I did end up wearing some of the gin due to my over-eagerness.

Cocktails

The nose is slightly floral with lavender, juniper, and a bit of citrus. Some lime and a bit of sweet orange zest.