The Hope Distillery is a young distillery from Tallinn, founded in 2022. The founder and master distiller is the Danish gentleman Steen Lerche-Jensen. While he was living in London, he got acquainted with the world of gin and from there, through twists and turns, ended up founding a distillery in Estonia. Gindome is the brand of Hope Distillery and the distillery currently produces five different gins. Mermaid is a navy-strength (58.2%, i.e., latitudes are right on the Estonian island of Saaremaa) gin and, according to the manufacturer, is inspired by the Strong Women. It is made in the London dry style, so distilled only once and after distillation it has not been further processed and only water has been added to balance the wanted alcohol content.
The base alcohol used is rectified spirit from organic rye grown in Estonia. Three different juniper berries, from Saaremaa, the Mediterranean and Italy, have been used in the production. These have been macerated in rectified spirit for 24 hours, but also added directly to the still. Other spices used are sea buckthorn, angelica root, coriander, licorice root, cashew nut, cornflower, rosemary and a few other. Gindome gins are easiest available directly from the distillery’s website thehopedistillery.eu and a 50cl bottle of Mermaid costs €34.
Mermaid Navy is my first navy-strength gin, so I have no other experience of this genre. The smell does not feel significantly more alcoholic than normal. The smell is very aromatic and spicy, with a slight sweetness in the background. When sipped neat carefully, the high alcohol volume does come through immediately, it’s rather pungent. I don’t want to burn my mouth and numb my taste buds, so I like to add a quarter of water to the glass. The taste softens and a fair amount of sweetness and some kind of creaminess is added, probably from the cashew nuts. The taste is really herbal and spicy, but very balanced also. No single spice stands out, but the traditional juniper berries and coriander are at least distinct from the taste. In addition to the spice, the taste also has floral nuances. The aftertaste has a licorice-like sweetness, and the spicy aromas remain in the mouth for a long time. Diluted with water, Mermaid tastes very good and I could easily imagine sipping a glass of it as an aperitif.
Navy-strength gins are at their best in cocktails, and Mermaid makes a steady job in a traditional gin & tonic. The spiciness pushes well through the tonic taste and the drink is strong, aromatic and diverse. Gindome Mermaid works particularly well in long cocktails, with shorter ones you should be careful not to make the drink too strong.
90/100
