On yet another journey to the ever wonderful Lidl, I came across a new gin they had in stock. I was unsure what to think as the bottle looks fairly mid/high teir, but only cost £8.99 which is an incredible price. Hampstead is also 40% rather than the usual 37.5% found in bottom shelf spirits, making it both cheaper and boozier than Lidl’s other Castelgy Gin.
Gin-ger beer.
I’m sorry. That doesn’t even make sense.
For once the bottle actually looks pretty respectable, seeming to be based loosely on Hendrick’s, Gordon’s and Plymouth. The front label has the words “Excellent Distillation” which is a nice change from the “TRIPLE DISTILLED” which many other spirits constantly brag about. When reading the back label I soon realised why this gin is so cheap. It’s only a 500ml bottle! I guess either the shape of it threw me off, or I was too excited about cheap booze to bother checking what size the bottle is, but looking at it now it does seem kind of stumpy.
I was very thankful that Hampstead doesn’t smell pissy at all as I was expecting. In fact, it actually smells pretty good. There’s quite a noticable citrus scent to it which could be there to cover up other shitty smells, but it’s a very welcome addition to the gin. Upon drinking, lavender and lemon flavours stand out the most. It seems to have a more complicated taste than most cheap gins, and although this is an alcohol review website, I’m too pissed to pick out any of these subtleties. In a gin and tonic, Hampstead is fantastic. Add lime and you have an extremely refreshing drink which doesn’t taste too strong, but still has a slight kick.
Hampstead is a really great gin, but unfortunately the bottle is small. However, at only £8.99 for 500ml, it works out at the equivalent of £13.50 for a standard 700ml bottle which really isn’t bad for such a great tasting booze. 500ml isn’t enough for one night of drinking, but I would happily pay £13.50 if there were to sell this in a normal sized bottle. Either way, this is a good gin and you should probably spend all your money on it (but save some for limes and tonic water).
Booze Review rating: 9/10 deliciouses
