Review – Opihr Gin
Popping down to the local supermarket to pick up a few spices for a Saturday night curry can, if you get your timing wrong, prove a hazardous experience. Good Lord those trolleys with a dodgy wheel are dangerous things. This pales into insignificance however, to the perils faced by those embarking along the ancient trade routes of King Solomon’s era when vast sums of money were involved in the lucrative trade that was the ancient spice routes. It is these ancient spice routes that Opihr is inspired by, calling itself a ‘spiced gin’. The botanicals themselves are pretty mainstream; Moroccan coriander, Indian black pepper, Indonesian cubeb berries, cardamom, orange, grapefruit and ginger amongst others join the required juniper to create a gin that is upfront about its spicy personality.
Nose: Curry spice rather than juniper is immediately apparent, in of Mongolian-style aromatic way. As it builds, it becomes apparent there is loads and loads of coriander here, dominating the other botanicals. Cumin too is discernible as is a little cracked pepper, and even a little lemony citrus as it spends time in the glass. There is no getting away from the cardamon heavy hit though.
Neat: Bucket loads of coriander spice, with a whack of cumin too. It’s not until the finish that the juniper gets to have a go on the palate and even then its usual waxy character is dominated by spice. This is a bold and aggressively flavoured gin that holds short of being ‘rough’, but is by no means a balanced offering. Whether this truly fits the requirement for a gin to be predominantly juniper flavoured is most certainly up for discussion.
Mixing: With such a bold spice element to this gin, mixing a balanced drink is challenging. In a Martini or G+T the results are so dominated by cardamon as to be almost unpalatable for example. Success requires the inclusion of some suitably boldly-flavoured ingredients who refuse to be brow beaten by the cardamon. A Basil Gimlet works nicely, the herbaceous aromatics acting as a go-between from the spice to the sour cordial. Sour flavours, and particularly grapefruit are a wise choice too, cutting through the cardamon to reveal the citrus element that it often offers in more subtle gins. The Money Penny for example when carefully made is a sweet, spicy, sour and aromatically pleasing cocktail. Bitter flavours by contrast do this gin no favours, and it won’t be making its way into many Negroni’s I suspect. Even the heavy spice presence in this gin is no match for that most dominant of flavours, the peated whisky however, and a Smoky Martini proves shows that assertive gins do have a place in the cocktail cabinet.
Opihr gin is an intensely-flavoured, cardamom-heavy gin which strays far from the traditional juniper-led flavour profile. Unbalanced in gin-heavy drinks, careful mixing with other bold ingredients does reveal some hidden strengths.
Rating: ★★★
Opihr Gin is available to buy from Master of Malt.
★: Terrible, only drink for a dare.
★★: Meh, not undrinkable but best left alone.
★★★: Reasonable, middle of the road.
★★★★: Tasty stuff, well worth seeking out.
★★★★★: Incredible, booze doesn’t get better than this. You need a bottle in your life.
12 Comments
Leave a Reply to Sally Chicken Cancel reply
Being honest. No good for a g&t. Should be used as a liqueur or as a fractional note in a complex clear cocktail. Impressive flavours most definitely. However, difficult to enjoy outside of a composite drink.
Feeling like the reviewer completely missed the point here and was coming at Opihr with expectations of what it “should” taste like. Personally, I *adore* the mid-east spice profile as much as I love the very juniper-forward gins such as Anchor’s Junipero–which gives Beefeater and Tanqueray a run for the money, btw. So, instead of complaining about the spices, why are you not trying to *work* with them? Best Martini I’ve made in a while uses Opihr and Dolin Dry vermouth (3:1) with a dash of home-made turmeric tincture–WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT DOESN’T WORK WITH BITTER FLAVOURS?!–…stirred and garnished with a bar-spoon of briny capers.
As for a G+T, try using Opihr with equal parts FeverTree Bitter Lemon… and a garnish of fresh *green* chili… or lime… or lemon.
Tried this with a sliver of red chilli and a peeling of orange skin plus tonic. Having tried this as a straight G & T initially and not liked it at all the orange and chilli mixture transforms the drink! be prepared for tingling lips!!!
I bought a bottle at Gatwick Airport on my way back from a visit to London . Probably the best looking product on the market . However the Gin is far too spicy. Still have 3/4 left and really do not like it. I used to work for IDV and know a bit about Spirits. This will not work in its current recipe.Awful, awful, awful…….
Try it with sliced strawberries tonic, its lush
I bought a bottle at Gatwick Airport on my way back from a visit to London . Probably the best looking product on the market . However the Gin is far too spicy. Still have 3/4 left and really do not like it. I used to work for IDV and know a bit about Spirits. Awful
The pepper and cumin flavours are very apparent to the nose, and the after taste in my opinion is dominated by pepper and notes of orange. I drank it as a g&t but won’t be purchasing again. Gets easier to drink after the first large glass!
I have been drinking this for ages now and absolutely adore it, with tonic water and ice. It tastes of cardomom and other spices, d’uh isn’t that the point ? I like other gins too but this one is unique, and when i want a spicy gin and tonic, this is it !! like it with lemon or lime as well
The aroma is great too
I tried this Gin it is now my hero beutiful
Certainly each to there own when it comes to taste testing this. We are all different & certainly our taste buds are. I for one love this Gin. I love it for being so different. It works so well with a curry or food with spicy flavours. It’s different, but that doesn’t make it bad, if anything being different inhances everything what is likeable about this Gin. I for one will continue to buy this Gin & have when I fancy something different from the norm. x
My daughter bought me Ohipr as a Birthday present, as she is 11 years old! I assume the beautiful presentation of the bottle caught her eye. Eagerly ‘and as a man’ I opened the bottle without reading the bottle thinking it was a standard Gin and poured in cranberry.
Initially I was taken a little back with back with it, as I thought I had a dirty glass or some curry had dropped in the glass from the pan as I was wash the pots. Which has brought me to this page to find a solution to the best mixer.
Thank you all for your tip’s and looking forward to getting tipsy
For 70 dollars in Australia its definitely not priced as a ‘middle of the road’ gin as the reviewer suggests. Remember this is just one critics opinion . I dont like london dry gins and favour botannicals like Gin Marie or New Zealand’s South or even Hendriks. However I thought I wouid give this one a go. I quite enjoyed it. Not mouth puckering like many london drys. The spices are awsome. I will try it with the orange next.