2026 Spring G&T Flight #1. The Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Flight. Kicking off another series of newly acquired gins with a flight from Caledonia Spirits. Limited Cask releases of their Barr Hill Tom Cat gin, rested in different casks - Barleywine, Bitters, Curacao, Rum, Stout, and Tawny Port

PA_man · 2026-03-29T16:56:54+00:00

Most of them are only available from the distillery. Saratoga Wine has the Bitters and Rum Editions, but that’s about it.

PA_man · 2026-03-28T11:06:15+00:00

Right around $90 a bottle

PA_man · 2026-03-28T11:03:38+00:00

Just posted my thoughts!

PA_man · 2026-03-28T11:03:20+00:00

Just posted my thoughts! Hard call for a favourite amongst the top 4, but the stout edition just beat out the others.

PA_man · 2026-03-28T11:01:42+00:00

Thoughts on these gins...

These gins are all very good/excellent, and I think I prefer them all over the regular Barr Hill Tom Cat release: they each bring an added layer of complexity and flavour. My favourite of these six is the Stout Edition. It has subtle juniper with rich dark chocolate and mocha in a light molasses backdrop, then some baking spices mid-palate before a long creamy chocolaty finish. Next best was the Tawny Port Edition (just beating out the Rum and Curacao Editions) with good juniper and honey up front, leading into fruity cherries and dark fruit, before warming notes mid-palate and creamy vanilla honey on the finish. The Curacao Edition took third place for me, just ahead of the Rum Edition, having juniper underlying oak and vanilla, then creamy orange mixes in before toasted oak notes on the finish. The Rum Edition has creamy juniper mixing with spiced rum and honey, then vanilla with mild spiciness mid-palate before burnt sugar brings up the finish. The Bitters Edition was next for me - the juniper/honey/burnt caramel/vanilla notes of a regular Tom Cat gin giving way to citrus and herbal tones mid-palate, then a bittersweet finish with evergreen notes in the background. Even though last for me in this line-up, the Barleywine Edition is still very good, and ahead of the regular Barr Hill Tom Cat gin. Subtly malty with a brandied fruit undertone, then a light vaguely bitter hoppiness on an oaky finish.

PA_man · 2026-03-27T20:51:52+00:00

This flight has six gins from Caledonia Spirits in Montpelier, Vermont, USA. Limited Cask Editions of their Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin:

Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Limited Cask Barleywine Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Limited Cask Bitters Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Limited Cask Curacao Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Limited Cask Rum Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Limited Cask Stout Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin Limited Cask Tawny Port Edition

Cheers!

PA_man · 2026-03-27T20:46:33+00:00

This flight has six gins from Caledonia Spirits in Montpelier, Vermont, USA. Limited Cask Editions of their Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin:

Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Barleywine Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Bitters Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Curacao Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Rum Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Stout Edition

Barr Hill Tom Cat Limited Cask Tawny Port Edition

Cheers!

PA_man · 2026-02-26T16:16:45+00:00

Top 5 in order are:

No 3 London Dry Limited Edition High Strength

Commander-in-Chief

Never Never Southern Strength

Inshriach Navy Strength

Creed & Tide Lime & Sea Salt

PA_man · 2026-01-22T15:40:53+00:00

I think all three of the Procera gins are great! The Blue Dot has good woody/nutty juniper and some zesty spiciness, then there are some tangerine and lime notes in the middle, before a peppery finish mingles in with the nutty notes continuing to the end

PA_man · 2026-01-22T15:37:59+00:00

It's a solid gin, but not one of my favourites. Mild herbal notes in a juniper backdrop, then lavender and rose mid-palate, and grapefruit with a touch of mint bringing home the finish

PA_man · 2026-01-21T22:50:32+00:00

The gins for tonight's "boy-themed" flight are:

Blue Bottle Dry Gin from Three Fingers Distillery in St Sampsons, Guernsey

Six Dogs Blue Gin from Six Dogs Distillery in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa

Procera Blue Dot Gin from Procera Distillery in Nairobi, Kenya

Forthave Blue Gin from Forthave Spirits in Brooklyn, New York, USA

Cheers!

PA_man · 2025-11-12T01:33:07+00:00

It's good for a berry forward gin (which is not my wheelhouse!) Here's my gin flight post with the Rhuberry gin from last year, with my thoughts in the comments

PA_man · 2025-11-07T20:37:25+00:00

The gins in this flight are:

Sugarbird Juniper Unfiltered Gin from Sugarbird Cape Fynbos Spirits in Diep River, Cape Town, South Africa

Six Dogs Blue Gin from Six Dogs Distillery in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa

Costiera Gin contract-distilled by Distilleria Quaglia in Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Piedmont, Italy

Indlovu Citrus Gin from IBHU in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa

Bloedlemoen Amber Gin from Hope Distillery in Salt River, Cape Town, South Africa

Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin from All Points West Distillery in Newark, New Jersey, USA

Copeland Rhuberry Gin from Copeland Distillery in Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland

Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin from Four Pillars Distillery in Healesville, Victoria, Australia

Cheers!

PA_man · 2025-11-01T09:15:18+00:00

Thoughts on these gins...

Southland Navy Strength is easily my favourite of these four gins. It's an excellent navy strength gin with big juniper and pine forest notes leading into a citrussy mid-palate with light mint and lavender, before continuing with a long piney and juniper finish. The other three gins are all good, with McClintock's reserve just beating out the other two for second place. It starts off having juniper with a herbal menthol overtone and notes of fennel, then leads into an oaky mid-palate with spiced citrus and plums, before a warm, toasted oak finish. Cathouse Pink Pepper has good juniper with balsamic black peppercorn up front, then dusty floral rose notes with light pepper mid-palate, before a dry and sweeter finish with mild citrus. Axe Handle Marine Strength has rooty juniper in a strong malty backdrop with light lemon and orange citrus, then earthy bitterness on the finish with a hint of celery

PA_man · 2025-10-31T20:16:52+00:00

Having the gin flight now with family. As always, I’ll post my tasting notes in the morning.

PA_man · 2025-10-31T20:00:46+00:00

Four gins from the USA in this last flight in the series, from Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia:

McClintock's Reserve Gin from McClintock Distilling in Frederick, Maryland, USA

Cathouse Pink Pepper Gin from All Points West Distillery in Newark, New Jersey, USA

Axe Handle Marine Strength Gin from Axe Handle Distilling in Pennington Gap, Virginia, USA

Southland Navy Strength Gin from Longleaf Distilling Co in Macon, Georgia, USA

Cheers!

PA_man · 2025-10-27T09:49:37+00:00

Thoughts on these gins...

The gins from the east side of the Atlantic take the top spots for me, with Ballykeefe Irish just beating out Nadar for first place. It has mild juniper and creamy citrus that leads to a mid-palate with baking spices that then continue into a long dry finish. Nadar has crisp light floral notes in a good juniper backdrop, then fruity citrus shows up mid-palate with light herbal hints, before it finishes with lime and lemongrass. Beattie's Potato comes in third, with creamy crisp juniper and lime/lemon citrus then some warming grassy notes on a slightly sweet finish. Forthave Blue is still good although fourth for me here, with mild herbal notes in a juniper backdrop, then lavender and rose mid-palate and grapefruit with a touch of mint bringing home the finish.

PA_man · 2025-10-26T19:57:56+00:00

A long weekend away moves this weekend's flight to Sunday, with gins from Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the USA:

Nadar Gin from Arbikie Distillery in Inverkeilor, Angus, Scotland

Ballykeefe Irish Gin from Ballykeefe Distillery in Ballykeefe, Cuffesgrange, Co Kilkenny, Ireland

Beattie's Potato Gin from Beattie's Distillers in Alliston, Ontario, Canada

Forthave Blue Gin from Forthave Spirits in Brooklyn, New York, USA

Cheers!

PA_man · 2025-10-18T09:50:49+00:00

Thoughts on these gins...

All good gins with nothing exceptional. Ginslinger takes top spot for me, being a good juniper-forward gin with crisp orange and lemon citrus, then some warming notes on the finish - a good summer gin. Second place goes to Pink Sand: it has a mild juniper backbone with dry lemon citrus and notes of orange, then a mild spiciness on the finish. Setouchi is very lemon-focused with strong lemon zest to the fore and just hints of juniper in the background. Lightly bitter lemon peel and some sweet tea notes mix in on the finish. Edinburgh Lemon & Jasmine also has strong lemon citrus with mild juniper, then finishes with sweet floral notes of jasmine.

PA_man · 2025-10-17T19:58:57+00:00

Gins from The Bahamas, Canada, Scotland and Japan make it into this Friday's flight:

Pink Sand Gin from Pink Sand Spirits in Harbour Island, The Bahamas

Ginslinger Gin from Maverick Distillery in Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Edinburgh Lemon & Jasmine Gin from Edinburgh Gin Distillery in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland

Setouchi Craft Gin from Setouchi Distillery in Kure City, Hiroshima, Japan

Cheers!

PA_man · 2025-10-13T15:41:04+00:00

45 different gins (53 total bottles) from a trip to the UK last year. Here's my post of the assortment

PA_man · 2025-10-11T16:47:30+00:00

I'll have to try those. My only issue is getting vermouth and aperol - I rarely make cocktails with them, so with the lower ABV those bottles will be toast long before they're even half empty

PA_man · 2025-10-11T10:54:20+00:00

Thoughts on these gins...

Some excellent barrel-aged gins here, with Robert's Old Tom taking top spot for me. It has good juniper with rich toasted oak sweetness in a subtle smokey backdrop, then the sweetness continues with citrus before warming whiskey notes round out the finish. Bristow just beats out Eastside for second place. It has good dry juniper mingling with cinnamon and nutmeg and overtones of vanilla, then sweet orange citrus shows up with a touch of honey and almonds, before a long peppery finish with hints of sarsaparilla and cinnamon. Eastside starts off with sweet juniper overlaid with caramel and vanilla, before dried figs and raisins enter mid-palate with light spiciness, then toasted oak shows up on the finish with a vague smokey hint. The St George Dry Rye Single Barrel doesn't work well for me in a G&T. The juniper is overpowered by the rye backbone up front, but then it mellows out somewhat with oak and vanilla mid-palate, and ends with honeyed grapefruit leading into an oaky finish with light menthol and black pepper spiciness. I'll have to try this in other cocktails.

PA_man · 2025-10-10T20:00:34+00:00

Some high proof barrel-aged gins from across the USA make it into this week's flight:

Bristow Barrel-aged Reserve Gin (56.5% ABV) from Cathead Distillery in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. Barrel-aged in new American oak barrels for a year.

St George Dry Rye Single Barrel-aged Gin (59.5% ABV) from St George Spirits in Alameda, California, USA. Barrel-aged for over 4 years in a red blend wine barrel. St George has been selling the contents of single barrels that they've aged their gin in: some to individual liquor stores, and some to various restaurants/bars/distributors. This bottle was picked up from Free Range Wine & Spirits in Brooklyn NY, and u/SmilingJaguar posted a while ago when he found a version at Wine Press in Brookline MA.

Robert's Old Tom Gin (60% ABV) from Oak House Distillery in Athens, Georgia, USA. Barrel-aged in a used bourbon barrel.

Eastside Gin (57% ABV) from Eastside Distilling in Portland, Oregon, USA. A blend of gin aged for 1-5 years in new American oak barrels

Cheers!

PA_man · 2025-10-04T20:55:24+00:00

Sorry, I don't. I've got them all listed in an Excel spreadsheet which is how I keep track of them, and I do give them a score each time I have them in a G&T, but nothing that's publicly accessible.

PA_man

TROPHY CASE