So, we tried Aviation American Gin and as I showed a few friends, I was shocked at how many people knew about it. Turns out it’s owned by Ryan Reynolds and everyone but me has heard of it.
Jokes on them really because as soon as the Aviation Gin touched down in Australian shelves, ManSpace magazine was lucky enough to try it out, before all my friends.
After doing a bit of research about the bottle, including watching this hilarious video featuring Reynolds, I realised it was more than just a nice bottle with a celebrity’s name on it.
It boasts botanicals like cardamom, coriander, French lavender, anise seed, sarsaparilla, juniper and two kinds of orange peel. The botanicals are suspended in a pure, neutral grain spirit for 18 hours in macerating tanks.
On top of that, Reynolds says that because some don’t like the strong flavour of juniper, all juniper berries used in this gin are apologised to before being beaten to a pulp to take the edge off.
After being blended with pure water to the desired 84 proof, the gin is then ordained by a priest from Fresno, California to ensure all bottles have a “heavenly” taste to them. Then, the gin is serenated by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan.
The painstaking, tongue-in-cheek process actually leads to a delicious end product.
The market for standard, solid gins is extremely saturated but I think I might’ve found my go-to moving forward. The gin has a solid punch, it works well as a basic and in a cocktail and I even made the signature ‘Miracle on Ice’ cocktail which has two parts gin, one part oat milk and one part cold brew.
On the aesthetic side of things, I love the bottle design. It elicits imagery of vintage American aircraft and uses the depth of the bottle to add a bit of texture behind the spirit. It’s super simple but I love it.
If you’re looking for a new gin to add to the shelf and really, want to change things up from the ol’ London dry style, check out the Aviation American Gin.
