Fresh, Fresher, Le Tribute
What do you get if you take a lot of different citrus fruits, lemongrass and juniper? You get a very citrus forward and fresh gin. Then add a very unique and beautiful bottle, a great story and a matching tonic and you have Le Tribute Gin.
Le Tribute Gin
The first time I came across this gin was on Copenhagen Gin Festival 2017 where Le Tribute Gin had a stand. The quality of the stand was outstanding with books and beautiful bottles everywhere and it was attracting a lot of people. I tasted the gin and immediately decided to buy a bottle – I was cheeky enough to ask for some merchandise but since they were quite new at that time they didn’t have any but instead me and my friends got a couple of free Le Tribute Tonics (actually I was told not to say it to anybody – Sorry!).
A couple of days later I took some pictures of the gin and added them to my Instagram feed – @LeTribute was so nice to share the post.
When I got home a mysterious box was standing on our dinner table with a burned an inscription saying “Jon Persson” – The box was clearly to me
6 months later the Danish importer Morten contacted me and said that he had a present from Le Tribute that they wanted me to have. I was of course very curious and arranged that Morten could swing by my apartment with the gift – Unfortunately I wasn’t home so my wife had to answer the door and receive the gift. When I got home a mysterious box was standing on our dinner table with a burned an inscription saying “Jon Persson” – The box was clearly to me 🙂
I opened the box and inside it was a wooden box with a leather handle with a copper sign saying “The Pioners, The Heritage, The Process”, 1 Le Tribute Gin, 6 Le Tribute Tonic and a beautiful Le Tribute branded bottle opener.
Okay okay – Enough about that. Let’s talk about the gin!
The gin is made by Destilerías MG who also make Master’s, Gin MG and also a range of pre-mixed ready to drink beverages. Destilerías MG is a five generation family business dated all the way back from 1835. The family behind the distillery is family Giro – Yes the family who also brought us the new classic Gin Mare. These guys knows exactly what they are doing and it also took two years to develop the gin and brand Le Tribute to get it perfect. They really don’t do things half hearted and personally I think you both can see and taste that in their products which also is very clear in the name Le Tribute which stands for Liquid Experience Tribute.
The family behind the distillery is family Giro – Yes the family who also brought us the new classic Gin Mare.
The botanicals
Base: Wheat and barley
- Juniper
- Lemongrass
- Orange
- Lemon
- Coriander
- Yellow, Green and Red Grapefruit
- Tangerines
- Kumquat
- Lime
The juniper is hand picked from the Giros family farmhouse in Teruel, the lemongrass is diluted in water since it give the best round taste, there are two types of oranges (a sweet and a bitter one) from Valencia, the lemons are from Seville, there a three types of grapefruits to give it the correct balance, the tangerines from the mediterranean coastline adds sweetness, the kumquat adds the fresh/bitterness and the lime adds the fresh/sweetness. Everything is carefully selected and very well balanced.
The gin is made by fractional distillation where 7 different distillations of some of the botanicals are carefully mixed to get the same result every time and a very controlled flavor and smooth taste.
Personally I think that even if this is the best way to get an consistent result every time some of the old school craftsmanship gets lost in the process.
Bottle and label design
There is no question that this is by far one of the most well executed and beautiful bottles out there. I know I said the same about Harris Gin, but this bottle and label is stunning! The bottle design makes you think about the great gatsby period, the lid is heavy, the print is embosed and everything else gives you the impression that this is a quality product and just puts a smile on your face.
Let’s taste
So how does this beauty taste?
Nose
There is no doubt that this is a citrus forward gin. The fragrance of lemongrass is very dominating but also the sweet oranges, tangerines and grapefruit is very present. After a little while you also get a beautiful dry fragrance from the juniper and probably the kumquat.
The palate
The gin is soft and smooth and the first thing you will notice is the juniper before it goes over to a fresh and citrus profile where the lemongrass, tangerines, sweet oranges and grapefruit is dominating to begin with before it goes over to a slightly bitterness when the gin leaves your mouth.
Gin & Tonic
One of my favorite serves is actually to take a piece of lemongrass and smash it with the back of the knife. This releases all the oils and flavors from the lemongrass and tastes amazing but to match the very citrus forward gin some herbal action can actually benefit to make a more complex flavored G&T.
Recipe
- 50 ml Le Tribute Gin
- 75 ml tonic Le Tribute Tonic
- A sprig of rosemary
- Lots of ice
Since it’s a Spanish gin you should probably use a copa glass but I used a lowball glass 🙂
Conclusion and rating
I know I got a really amazing gift from Le Tribute so I will try not to be too prejudiced but I really really like this gin, the tonic, the beautiful bottle and label design. The gin is super fresh and makes me think about those warm summer days where the sun is out, you are together with friends and family and you are just having a good time.
The only thing I really can put a finger on is the price-tag, since this gin is quite expensive compared to other citrus forward gins from the mediterranean area.
Rating
★★★★★☆
Price
$$$$$$