Poor Toms Gin is made in the latest gin distillery to open in Sydney. Although they are both crazy about gin, Griff and Jesse (the two friends behind Poor Toms) conceded that without a science background, they weren’t in the best position to distil gin and called in gin expert Marcel Thompson to help them learn. A trained chemist, Marcel has worked in the industry for 28 years and has distilled Gordon’s and Tanqueray.
If you are wondering where the name Poor Toms comes from (aside from being a character in King Lear), both Jesse and Griff’s middle name is Tom and Griff reminded me that after they saved up for the copper still from Germany, they were both pretty poor afterwards!
The botanicals used in Poor Toms Gin are a cunning mix of traditional: juniper, coriander seeds, angelica root, cinnamon, cardamom, and cubeb pepper and some envelope-pushing ingredients too: freshly pressed granny smith apples, lemon myrtle, chamomile and strawberry gum leaf.
According to the Poor Toms team, they used Granny Smith apples in place of citrus, but added lemon myrtle to boost it and chamomile to bring out the apple notes.
Strawberry Gum leaf (also known as Olida and Forestberry) is a highly aromatic native ingredient used in essential oil and perfumery (It’s also a botanical in Botanic Australis).
Poor Toms Gin is a lighter, floral style of gin. On the nose the juniper is clearly present, but is not dominating. The flavour is crisp, with a subtle sweetness and minimal heat. It’s very smooth on the palate and makes a delicious G&T garnished with strawberry or raspberry. It also worked very well in the Strawberry & Basil Gin Smash
Country of Origin: Australia
ABV: 41.3%
Price: Medium
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