The great Panamanian Gin shootout
August 01, 2006On our recent trip to Chiriqui I stumbled over Gin Holandesa and Gin Kondor which I haven’t seen before. Intrigued I decided that in the interest of science I needed to do a taste test of Holandesa vs. the tried and true Gin Caballito. I wanted to do a test of Kondor, but my wife warned me that I might wake up without a stomach. Judging by the price $2.35 for a 70cl bottle (about $1 less than the others) I decided to skip it. Although I know feel that was a mistake.
Let’s examine the contenders:
Holandesa Gin
This gin is produced by the same distillery in Chiriqui who distills Ron Carta Vieja. This is my favorite white rum in Panama, so I had high hopes for Holandesa.
The label has a nice drawing of a Dutch girl in front of a windmill making me feel confident in the quality. It also states that it has been analyzed and approved by the official chemist (Thanks guy) and that it is suitable for consumption for the public. Thankfully I am one of the public.
This Gin is not available here in the Capital so as I said before I picked a 25cl bottle up in Romero’s in David for $1. It contains a meager %35 alcohol.
Caballito Extra Dry Gin
On my first arrival in Panama the label instilled enough confidence in me to buy a whole bottle. So I have already paid my duties in this department. This however was over 4 years ago. So lets see.
I always thought it was distilled by Varela, but it appears not. The label states the producers as “Compañia Panameña de Licores, S. A.”.
The design is nice and classically sporty. Caballito means little horse, so it sports a horses head. The label says “La Legitima” which means “The Legitimate”. This begs the question as opposed to what? I like the sound of the “Extra Dry”, I guess this is what made me buy it the first time.
Interestingly enough it does not mention the official chemist nor that it is safe for public consumption. I am fearless although my wife is worried.
I bought this 25cl bottle in Supermercado Rey for $1.35. I’m wondering if the increase in price is due to the fact that I’m in the city or if it always is more expensive.
The Mixers
The only way to test a Gin is in a suitably strong Gin and Tonic. So I brought out:
- Plenty of Ice
- Limon Criollo, I think this is what is known as Key Lime in English
- Tonic which is known locally as Quinac (pronounce it “kee-nah” in the bar) due to it’s anti malaria properties
The Sniff and swig
The smell of Holandesa is much similar to that alcohol you use for cleaning. I tried a quick swig and it was surprisingly sweet. Only a slight hint of the herbs and spices that make a good gin.
The Caballito didn’t have quite as bad a smell as the Holandesa but was even sweeter than the Holandesa. There was also even less of a gin flavor than the Holandesa.
The Tasting
The final drinks looked pretty good. I tried the Holandesa first. It started out pretty clean. Again not much of a Gin flavor, but nothing bad. Then when the flavor of the tonic had faded the aftertaste hit me. It was that same surgical alcohol flavor I had experienced smelling the bottle. It’s not that intense, but yes it’s there.
The Caballito tasted more like a bland rum. The drink was noticeably sweeter than the Holandesa and not quite as satisfying on first taste. Thankfully it didn’t have the same aftertaste as the Holandesa.
The first two drinks were the worst. After that I was fine and enjoyed the Holandesa more than the Caballito.
The morning after
An important part of liquor testing is consuming enough of it to feel the effect on you in the morning. I consumed probably about 35-40cl last night and I have to say I feel fine. No ill effects at all, which really surprises me.
The winner
Well the truth is I can’t recommend any of them. If I had to pick one, I guess it would be the Holandesa as it is less sweet. If you really need Gin and Tonic in Panama pick one of the brands of UK Gin’s that are familiar with already.
Where Panama truly wins though is in Rum. They have a great rum tradition. Carta Vieja and Seco mixes nicely with Tonic. In the future I will stick to Rum myself.
This entry was posted in the following Categories: Drinks
Comments:
Great report! have a good week :D
Posted by: melissa_cookingdiva at September 3, 2006 06:18 PM
M
