The nose is light and fresh - like Njöror, the Viking God of the Wind whistling Mendelssohn. There is a sweet smell of pine, from the juniper and top notes from citrus that glisten with sherbet. The middle is contained in a faint floral, I find on a second nosing. With an ABV of 43% this is a good and robust strength to allow a lighter handling of botanics.
The taste is very surprising, given the botanics I mentioned earlier. I must have missed something. The start is sweet and warm with mere whisps of spice. I am getting orange trending to mandarin with coriander seed in the middle section and this slides down to the bottom register on a creamy bed of roses. The barley giving this creamy mouth feel with the attar of the roses. A good balanced middle that is deepened by the juniper and the local angelica on the bottom. The borage must help cut into this lower level with herbaceous notes as it is not a heavy gin - it's very light and the rose acts as an anchor to give a shading into the depths and up to the floral citrus high notes. All in all, the balance is clever, understated and tastes easy. There is a long dry finish with a little fizzle of pepper. This gin has personality!
I'm going to try this as a G&T with Walter Gregor Tonic, as the mint will help to boost Kirkjuvagr's maritime freshness. A peel of orange or tangerine would suit this drink well. There is no need to complicate it with garnish and plastic monkeys clinging desperately to bottled cherries. The simplicity of this gin is all you need with a classic premium tonic.
