An actor and a master distiller walk into a room... And out comes a new gin brand ready for a taste test! 

In May last year, it was announced that Brad Pitt was launching his own gin brand, called The Gardener Gin, inspired by the sights and sounds of the French Riviera. The Gardener Gin is a London Dry gin made from a wheat base spirit and contains botanicals such as juniper, liquorice, angelica, coriander, pink grapefruit, lemon, and sweet and bitter oranges. 

Brad Pitt and Matthieu Perrin of the Perrin family, co-creators of The Gardener Gin. (Image source: Gardener Gin)

Beyond the obvious star power thrown behind the brand, however, what truly caught my eye was learning that one of the minds behind this gin brand was none other than Tom Nichol. Nichol is no small figure in the gin making industry, having previously served as Tanqueray gin's master distiller for over nine years, and is credited for helping to create the legendary Tanqueray No. Ten expression. In 2015, Nichol also won the The Gin Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award back in 2015. 

Tom Nichol, ex-Master Distiller of Tanqueray, helped Pitt to create The Gardener Gin. 

Seeing as Nichol was lured out of retirement by Pitt to be the Master Distiller for The Gardener Gin, it certainly piqued my interest to see how this gin would turn out. The gin debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and like most of us non-Hollywood stars, it's been quite difficult to find a place to try it at.

Love the intricate detailing on the bottle stopper here! 

Hence, I was pretty stoked when the folks of Malt Wine Asia, who is the distributor of The Gardener Gin in Singapore. gifted me a sample to try! So without further ado, let's get to it! 

Tasting Notes - The Gardener Gin

Aroma: Begins with herbaceous notes of piney juniper and zesty lemon citrus. This is accented by a slight sweetness of grapes, and a sprinkling of prickly white pepper. Very gentle aromas that comes through in soft, subtle wafts! 

Body: Creamy juniper at the fore, backed by notes of lemon zest and bitter orange. It's quite smooth and medium bodied, with a creaminess to it. There's some mild fruity blackcurrant and licorice, and some coriander and peppery spice. 

Finish: Deliciously long, with a warming menthol sensation that fades gently alongside accents of juniper, bitter orange and mint. 

In a Tonic:

Paired with some Elderflower Tonic, the fruitiness of this gin opens up and becomes more prominent. I now detect the bigger presence of a more subtler blackcurrant and grape-like note. The citrus flavour of this gin is still prominent, offering a refreshing edge to this G&T. Some of the spiciness in this gin does gets mellowed out with the tonic, and what's left behind is something quite gentle and elegant.  

Overall Thoughts:

The Gardener gin was pretty tasty! It carries those classic London Dry juniper and citrus notes at the forefront, complemented by light touches of fruitiness and spiciness that were integrated quite cohesively. Overall, this gin came across as quite gentle and elegant. 

What did surprise me was this gin's warming menthol finish when sipped neat! It was beautifully drawn out in a way that feels like settling into a sofa after a long day. It's a shame some of that is neutralised when mixed with a tonic. Although, I do think this gin can still be a good G&T accompaniment if you favor something more refreshing and fruity, as my experience is that the tonic did help accentuate its grape undertones!

Gardener Gin can be found on Malt Wine Asia here. 88 Bamboo will not receive any commission for sales made via this link. 

Happy sipping! 

@lotusroot518