Well, if you want to avoid that unpleasantry, then make it a point to purchase Plymouth Gin. It is excellent. First made back in 1793, Plymouth Gin is a grand old institution in Britain. Churchill soaked it up, as does the Royal Navy. To this day Plymouth makes their gin on an ancient site, a 16th-century Dominican Friary where Miles Standish and the Pilgrim stayed the night before they set out for America.
Plymouth Gin, at 82.4 proof, is a very smooth gin. How the folks at Wine Enthusiast ever could have said that it was “sharp, astringent, and heavy” I do not know. Plymouth Gin is triple distilled and it has a bevy of botanicals in it- juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root, orris root and cardamom.

Now you may be scratching your head and wondering, “Botanicals, schmotanicals- so damn what?” Well, I tell you about the botanicals because Plymouth isn’t just smooth and inoffensive, it also has outstandingly flavor. This is rare. Plymouth Gin doesn’t whack you with the piney juniper taste. No, it gives you hints of citrus, lemon or perhaps orange, and coriander and then a mild juniper flush. As you let it slide down your throat you sense a softness and certain, well, earthiness. Such balance