Source: INDOGGO / INDOGGO
Yes, that’s right, another Spirit.Ed column about gin and I can already hear the collective groans and boos from the crowd, but trust me on this one. We’ve shared details on Snoop Dogg‘s new INDOGGO gin in previous posts, but this time we’re back with a review of this infused spirit.
Flavored gins aren’t a new concept as pink gin has come in and out of favor amongst drinkers since the 19th Century and actually was a cocktail before becoming a bottled commodity itself. And while most bottled pink gins are slightly sweetened, INDOGGO (pronounced as “indigo”) stands out as it features an unsweetened light hand on the botanicals all boosted with an all-natural strawberry flavor infusion.
On the nose, Indoggo smells a lot like strawberry bubble gum, and there is a lot of fruit-forward notes such as berries, citrus, and hard candies that your grandma had in that dish in the sitting room.
The botanicals of angelica, cassia, coriander, juniper, orange, orris root, and strawberry are surprisingly noticeable and not drowned out by the flavoring. A neat pour reveals a clear gin, which defies the bright purple bottle the stuff comes in, and it drinks fine without dilution. A few clear cubes of ice opens up the gin, making it a great sip for after work, and adding tonic water atop a shot in an ice-filled highball glass is especially inviting.
I recently had dinner at The Dish and Dram in Kensington, Md. where they made their own spin of a Negroni using INDOGGO. I didn’t ask for the ratio but the ingredients for the cocktail were easy to find. The Negroni is traditionally made of equal parts London dry gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth stirred in a rocks glass with ice and an orange and misted twist.
Using that same recipe, the Northern Negroni was fine but the gin was lost behind the boldness of the Amaro Averna and the dry vermouth. I found that adding an extra quarter ounce of INDOGGO gives the gin its proper place in the mix, making for a fine after-dinner drink that has its own visual appeal in comparison to the traditional bright-red Negroni.
Northern Negroni
1 1/4 oz – INDOGGO
1 oz – Dolin Dry Vermouth
1 oz – Amaro Averna
Combine the spirits into rocks/old-fashioned glass. Add ice and stir until chilled (between 20-30 seconds). Garnish with an expressed orange peel and throw a Luxardo maraschino cherry in there.
My version of the Northern Negroni can be seen below.
Source: D.L. Chandler / DLC
Props to The Dish and Dram for putting this incredibly dope combination on my radar.
INDOGGO’s mixology team crafted a nice collection of cocktails that are featured on its webpage, including Snoop Dogg’s favorite, The Laid Back, which combines pineapple juice and club soda for a drink that’ll be perfect as the temps continue to warm going into the spring and impending summer months.
INDOGGO can be purchased nationwide and found in several fine liquor stores. Learn more about INDOGGO here.
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Photo: INDOGGO
Snoop Dogg’s INDOGGO Gin Is An Infused Twist On The Classic Spirit [Review] was originally published on cassiuslife.com
