I was recently in Philadelphia and decided to eat at one of my local favorites, Ocean Prime. I have in the past reviewed their Martini and given them my coveted two Martini rating. See “Bar Review: Ocean Prime“. But that was before I started adding a rating for Gin selection. So I took a few notes this time on their Gin selections.
First of all I’m happy to say that I have no reason to second guess my two Martini rating given previously. My Martini’s this time were excellent, as before. I also had the opportunity to sample a few new and unusual Gins.
The first of these was Uncle Vic’s of Sonoma CA. This was very heavy on the lemon with elements of pine and cardamon(?). Again, I probably wouldn’t use it in a martini, but I think it might work well in a Gin & Tonic.
The second is Barr Hill from Vermont. This gin is flavored with two, yes only two, elements; Juniper, of course, and honey. As a consequence It is a very sweet gin. Not really to my liking, certainly not as a martini. Perhaps as an after dinner aperitif?
I was also given a quick sample of Tanqueray Old Tom. This is a limited release edition in the historical “Old Tom” style. Tastewise this is much more subdued than its namesake, almost subtle but with a hint of sweetness. I think this will appeal to a lot of people and is definitely worth a sampling.
Because of these three very interesting gins, Ocean Prime gets an “A” for selection. Here are the gins they carry:
Bombay, Bombay Sapphire, Bombay Sapphire East
Tanqueray, Tanqueray 10, Tanqueray Rangpur, Tanqueray Old Tom
Hendrick’s, Bluecoat, Nolet’s,
Barr Hill, Uncle Vic’s
