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They’ve missed a trick with the name of Brad Pitt’s new gin…

It should be Gin-terview with a Vampire, or, Once Upon a Time Gin Hollywood, shouldn’t it? As it stands, it’s called Gardener Riviera Gin.

Despite Brad’s well-documented sobriety, his gin is apparently the French Riviera in a bottle. Does this mean it comes with flavours of citrus groves, Mediterranean herbs, sunscreen, mankinis and super yacht engine oil? I hope not, that would taste… questionable.

Of course, Brad is no stranger to the business of drinks; he owns a rosé champagne (Fleur de Miraval), a sparkling tea brand (Enroot), and of course, his Provence rosé, Chateau Miraval. And very nice it is too. It’s made by the leading, fifth-generation winemaking family, the Perrins, of Château de Beaucastel fame.

They also make Gardener Riviera Gin and interestingly collaborated with Brad on a skincare line too, which is made from the discarded grape must (leftovers after pressing).  

This time, though, they’ve cleverly teamed up with legendary distiller, Tom Nichol, ex-Master Distiller of the iconic gin brand, Tanqueray. Tom is ‘an alchemist of great renown’ according to the website, and only the second person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Gin Guild. In fact, he came out of retirement specifically to work on this new gin.

With Tom’s involvement, Gardener Riviera Gin transcends being ‘just another celebrity-backed booze brand’, to a serious player in the spirits space. The gin that Tom has helped create here is a London Dry, a style considered the purest of gins due to its lack of added sugar or flavour additives after distillation (aka it’s not a flavoured gin). Botanicals include juniper, liquorice, coriander, pink grapefruit, lemon and Cap d’Antibes oranges (bitter and sweet).

Its stunning bottle is supposed to represent the ‘azure waves of the French Riviera, as well as a shift in colour similar to sky and sea’, according to the designers. The name is a reference to the mythical ‘gardener’, who tends the land in the Riviera and, ‘who works in harmony with the shifts in the season’. Well, all I can say is they’d have a field day in my garden.

The gin itself is apparently handcrafted by Brad, Tom and Perrin, though I’m not expecting Brad to be working tirelessly in the distillery at all hours. He will have had a hand in selecting the style, botanicals and would be part of the tasting team, probably looking like the Man from Del Monte while doing it. There would definitely have been a linen suit and a silk cravat involved at some point.

And because I’m nothing if not curious, I lined the pricier spirit up against two much cheaper own-label options from Aldi to see how they compare.

I tasted them all, neat and in a G&T and for the latter drink, I poured them with Fevertree Refreshingly Light Mediterranean Tonic Water.

Here’s a look at how Aldi’s Greyson’s and Haysmiths gins fared against Brad’s Gardener Riviera and the results might surprise you…

Haysmiths London Dry Gin 40% ABV £16.99, Aldi

Neat

Bright and exuberant on the nose, leaps out of the glass. Very much cardamom-led with notes of citrus peel and fennel seed – dominated by top notes. On the palate, the cardamom comes through loud and clear, along with flavours of rosemary, lemongrass and Thai basil, tailing off with a summery, lemony finish.

G&T

The cardamom notes pop, even when paired with the herbal tonic water. You really get the botanical flavours coming through, without becoming overpowering.

Conclusion

Assuming you like the flavour of cardamom, Haysmith’s keeps its flavour identity even when paired with tonic, so it’s a home run in a G&T. Too overpowering for a Martini, plus, the ABV isn’t high enough.

Overall score: 8.5/10

Gardeners Riviera Gin 42% ABV, £38, Majestic

Neat

Spirit-forward nose with the citrus and angelica, coriander and liquorice coming through. It’s clean, powerful with Mediterranean scrub, lavender and dried herbs on the palate. You really do get flavours of the Riviera here with a lasting finish of dried oregano and thyme.

G&T

Although the higher alcohol content gave the drink a lovely viscous texture, I found the subtle citrus-herbal flavours were slightly lost when paired with the tonic water. Which was a shame as I’m a big fan of the botanical blend here.

Conclusion

This is squarely the gin for a Martini, where the botanicals and texture can let their flavour flag fly!

Overall Score: 8/10

Greysons London Dry Gin 37.5% ABV, £16.29

Neat

Creamy nose of juniper, stem ginger and orange. On the palate it’s light in texture with flavours of orange zest and autumnal spices like cinnamon and white pepper.

G&T

Completely disappeared in both flavour and body, when poured with the tonic water. Ended up only tasting the tonic, the drink tasted neutral.

Conclusion

The low ABV means that they can charge less, though it’s a false economy as you’ll also be getting less body and flavour concentration. For 70p more, you get a lot of addition flavour and texture for Haysmith’s.

Overall Score: 6/10

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