Who knew they made gin in Sweden?

Right Gin may in fact be the only gin from Sweden, but remember that gin is really just flavored vodka, which Sweden certainly knows from Adam.

The flavor choices here are largely traditional — juniper, coriander, cardamom, and a variety of citrus botanicals (including lemon as well as bitter orange, bergamot, and lime) — but the real surprise in Right Gin is the addition of black pepper — yes, black pepper like the stuff on your dining table.

First sip offers up-front citrus, and orange peel is strong on the nose, too. Juniper is moderate but fades away quickly. And then that pepper kicks in. It’s extremely strange, and so unexpected it’s difficult to place properly when you taste it in a gin. I’m glad Right told me they use pepper in the blend or I would have had a tough time placing it. But once you realize that’s what you’re tasting, you can almost taste nothing else in it, at least after the initial citrus punch fades away.

The pepper character makes Right — which, on the whole, is quite drinkable — somewhat inflexible as a cocktail ingredient. It might work better in a gibson than a martini, for example, and isn’t really cut out for fruit-oriented cocktails like a casino. Right’s best concoction? Probably a good-old gin and tonic, where pepper actually enhances the drink.

80 proof.

B / $40

Right Gin

$40

8

Rating

8.0/10