What makes you so special? Monkey 47 Gin

Welcome to the first in the series of our "What makes you so special?" posts. Here we'll be playing kudos to a drink that may have turned the Master Mixologists head, popped his taste buds and caught his imagination, bringing you the inside scoop on what's worth a try.

This time we'll be taking a closer look at Monkey 47 – Schwarzwald Dry Gin. 

So anything that has the word Monkey in its name piques my curiosity. But why do you love it?

Monkey 47 uses 47 handpicked ingredients, prepared in extremely soft spring water from a German distiller "Black Forest" source. It gives Monkey 47 the piece de resistance which is the “secret weapon” I use typical to the Black Forest cocktail. It has an unrivaled complexity and quality. This is all thanks to the masterly distillation and a traditional maturing process which uses traditional earthenware containers.


What else is unique about it?

It's a very unusual gin in terms of taste and aroma and delivers a perfect umami taste (which in Japanese means "pleasant savoury taste", stimulating various taste receptors on the tongue.

What was your first impression of it and did it change over time?

When I first tried it during a tasting session I smelt it and thought WOW this is unusual!  I liked it even before tasting it and now I love mixing with it.  It has a refreshing aroma, unlike the traditional juniper berry and upfront types of gin. It's very much a new world gin. 

What's it best used for? 

Gimlet 47, Monkey Grapes, Dry Martini, Negroni or the famous James Bond Martini "Vesper 007"."

Mmmmm I could do with one of those now! So who would you recommend try the Monkey 47?

Someone who appreciates the good things in life!