Citadelle No Mistake Old Tom Gin’s nose is fresh and intense: juniper and orange zest combine with cardamom then the notes gradually become more vegetal and floral, with hints of jasmine, honeysuckle, fennel, and cumin. A barely sweet aroma that ends with a note reminiscent of coffee. The palate is full, elegant, smooth and with a hint of acidity that offsets the sweetness. Fresh notes of lemon are balanced with the more bitter notes of génépie and soft notes of almond, joining then with spicy notes. The finish is long, spicy and floral with a special touch given by the barrel wood.

Citadelle No Mistake Old Tom Gin bases its recipe on that of Citadelle Reserve Gin. Cane sugar from the Caribbean is added to make Old Tom, but only after it has been roasted in copper cauldrons to begin caramelization. Alcohol is added to it and aged for 3-4 months in barrels. This aged sugar is then added to Citadelle Reserve and then the gin is placed back into former cognac barrels for a few months where it reaches 46% Vol.

“No Mistake Old Tom” is an expression of Citadelle gin based on an Old Tom style; sweeter than a London Dry, but still dry compared to a Genever. Most likely the name Old Tom comes from a kind of early drink dispensing machine that some English pubs had installed in the 1700s. Passersby, after depositing a penny inside the sign in the cat’s mouth, would receive a portion of gin that reached outside through a small tube. On the heels of the citadel of Dunkirk, where King Louis XVI authorized the construction of a distillery using French juniper, Alexandre Gabriel decided to launch gin Citadelle. After recreating the Reserve version, he was inspired by 18th-century England to revive an Old Tom on the Extreme style. Far from wanting to recreate a drink that effectively made the English lose their sanity, Alexandre wanted to bring this nearly forgotten style of gin back into vogue. During his frequent travels in the Caribbean he discovered a fabulous Demerara-like cane sugar that was moist and heavy. Placed in copper cauldrons, this sugar is first roasted, undergoing an initial caramelization process, then lightly gilded and added with alcohol to then undergo aging for 3 to 4 months. He selected Citadelle Reserve barrels that are characterized by their floral tone and added 35-40 grams of Caribbean aged sugar. This is then blended and rested for several months in barrels.