The beginning of February meant a new Shaker and Spoon box. This month the spirit of choice was gin, aptly named Death by Gin. I was excited because the last two have both been whiskey-based (which I love, but was looking forward to trying something else).  When the box arrived, I opened it up to see what I was in store for.  I tend to keep it a surprise more or less.  Although Shaker and Spoon does describe its cocktails in detail on their website, I usually only skim and look at what the spirit will be to make sure it’s one I like.  Thus when the box arrived, I only have a small idea of what will be in there.

I also didn’t know that the gin box was based on the new Murder on the Orient express movie, evoking Hercule Poirot and the 1920’s.  It also inspired me to watch the movie but that’s another story.

Another thing that generally happens is that I immediately want to try the cocktails.   As I had gin on hand, it was pretty easy to make the one that sounded the most appealing: Above the Persimmon.

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I’d love to be able to say that I was familiar with persimmons before this.  I’d certainly heard of them and knew what they were, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually had one, at least not that I’m aware of.   This one was super simple to made (just a few basic ingredients in a mixer and then some grated nutmeg), and delicious.  These could definitely be lethal if you’re not careful.

Next up was my favorite of the bunch: The Taurus Tea Gimlet (however somehow I never managed to get a good picture of it cause I kept forgetting to do it, and then didn’t take the time to get a really good one by the time I was about to run out of ingredients… so perhaps this speaks to the excellence of the drink?).  This was amazing.  It had chai syrup, so it actually surprised me that I ended up loving it.  (I don’t hate chai things but they’re not my preferred flavor profile generally.)  This one also had lime and vanilla cherry bark bitters, which I also used to make a Manhattan later in the week with great results.

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On the flip side of having a drink I loved with zero good pictures, here’s an example of some decent pictures from a drink I couldn’t stand.  The Valet was so gross I couldn’t even drink it.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying no one will like it.  I just didn’t.  It was a take on The Gibson cocktail and so it had onion brine in it, much like a dirty martini’s olive brine and it was just not my thing.  But if you’re a dirty martini person, then this is probably your cup of tea!

So I’d say two out of three ain’t bad, right?  And overall I think there have only been two drinks out the nine I’ve tried that I didn’t want to have again, so that’s a pretty good track record!

Next month is Irish Whiskey, so we’ll see what cocktail adventures are in store!