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