Gin Review - Blood Monkey

Name: Blood Monkey
Category: Genever (or is it? I’ll explain later)
Origin: West Cork, Ireland

Introduction

Blood Monkey taught me a valuable lesson. Don’t underestimate the public.

When I was first sent a bottle by Jason, the drinks industry entrepreneur and mastermind behind the brand, I felt it was too far from what people expected from a craft gin. I was running a gin subscription club at the time. It was lockdown and I was having great fun sending gin around the country but I was conscious of people trusting me with 40-odd quid for something too challenging. I wasn’t sure people were ready for a Genever, the Dutch drink from which the English derived Gin in the 1700s.

When I finally got round to using Blood Monkey at tastings, I realised people really took to it and the ones who like it… REALLY like it.

Blood Monkey doesn’t call itself a Genever, presumably because it doesn’t adhere wholly to the definition, but it’s equally likely Jason just thought it would be easier to market a gin than educate people on what a Genever was. So, now I have to do his dirty work.

Incredibly quick summary of genever - it was the first juniper based recreational spirit originating in the Netherlands and Flanders and is made from a malt-wine base (essentially unaged whisky), rather than the neutral spirit that is used to create Gin. Consequently, the dominant flavours are the malt base rather than the juniper. It is, to be reductive, somewhere between a gin and whisky. Sweeter than gin and I would argue more accessible than whisky if you’re a gin drinker.

Blood Monkey was inspired by Genever and mixed with more modern gin botanicals to create something completely new.

Tasting Notes

On the nose there’s a lovely mix of refreshing lemon and malted grain which is very unique to Blood Monkey. Nothing else has an aroma quite like it. On the palate, you’re getting that whisky-like sweetness and subtle floral notes before a finish that is smoother than a traditional Genever with liquorice notes.

Blood Monkey is best enjoyed straight but it’s surprisingly flexible when it comes to mixers. I’ve tried it with plain tonic, ginger ale, and cranberry & ginger tonic and all make for a delightful tipple.

History

The gin’s name is derived from the practice of ‘bleeding the monkey’. Using a small tool (a gimlet, the same tool that gives its name to a cocktail), 19th century sailors would drill into the side of barrels of gin and rum and cheekily steal more than their daily ration.

Legend has it that when Nelson died at Trafalgar, they stored his body in a barrel of rum to preserve him and by the time they removed his body, the crew had drunk most of the contents, giving rise to the phrase ‘tapping the admiral’.

Blood Monkey can be bought here. Or not. I don’t care. They’re not paying me to write this. But you should buy a bottle. It’s lovely.