Notes: Made in a copper pot still with such exotics as Dragon Eye and Poppy along with the usual ingredients one finds in gin. Poppies have a long history in medicine and Dragon Eye is a Chinese herb/fruit that is used to increase Kidney Chi and reputed to be of use for female sex drive/orgasm. (Personally I thought gin itself was, silly me). This is a lighter style of London Dry Gin with a emphasis on lightness and so differs from the older styles.

Appearance: Crystal clear, sprightly, displays some legs on swirling, which then become droplets on the side of the glass.

First Impression: Perfumey bouquet, even more than Bombay or Tanqueray. Juniper, witch hazel and cassia, with citrus and other aromatics adding to the blend. Poppy lends a bready/earthy presence not found in other gins and the dragon eye (Longan) provides some base notes not found elsewhere.

Taste: Medium weight body with a pleasant aromatic blend of spices, mild tingling on the lips and tongue lingering finish. Very clean, with a very interesting mixture of spices including cinnamonm and cardamon. Slight warming burn on the way down. Finish has decided citrus (especially Seville orange) along with the above tastes.

Drinks: Makes a excellent if lighter bodied martini, interesting Gin and Tonic, almost more of a bitter than a gin due to the lightness of the Juniper and the profusion of other herbs and citrus- not the dense juniper/pine scent of a older style gin but the gentle kiss of spices that blend and compliment with the quinine and lime.

Bottle: Squat smoked purple/grey glass bottle that flares to a rounded shoulder with a short wide studded neck with a oversize cap (but standard diameter neck and screw top underneath so it will accept regular pour spouts). Heavy glass with weighted bottom gives it a fireplug/bulldog feel.

Final Thoughts : One of sadly few gins made the old fashioned way in a copper pot still, a labor intensive method that has fallen from favor among most distillers. Only the truly committed (or committable) still use copper pot stills to produce truly different artisianal style products, although unlike the other pot still gins we have tried this one has a very light and aromatic body “Gin is a fiddlely thing to produce” to quote a (obviously English) distiller friend of mine – made especially difficult to produce with a pot still.

Compares well with other premium gins of its type/profile.This is not your fathers Gin or the kind you got deathly ill with earlier in High School or College (or maybe even before). It is a lighter style that bears more resemblance to a exotic spice melange than a fir tree.

Website: http://www.bulldoggin.com

Website is under construction. . . due up November 15th, 2006.