I’ve always been a fan of Old Raj Gin, but never had the opportunity to write about it until now. I’ve also never had the opportunity to talk to anyone at Cadenhead, which makes Old Raj, until now. Cadenhead has always been a dark horse: they don’t advertise; don’t do the convention circuit; don’t sponsor parties or spirit competitions. Anyway, I was able to get a few questions answered, so the below article might be of interest to gin fans. One question I couldn’t get answered is why they made the overproof version in the first place. Apparently, no one remembers.
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Old Raj I’ve been aware of since the 90s, and while I’ve had it here and there, and went through one bottle at home back in the naughts, I’ve never paid it much mind. And I’ve never done a side-by-side with the two expressions or particularly against other gins. Maybe it’s time for a gin-off, if I can find the stuff? I know Astor used to (long ago) carry both, so maybe I’ll start there.
I’ve know of Cadenhead’s since the 90’s too, because of all the whacky scotches and rums they age and bottle. Mostly collector/fiend stuff. I probably still have some Cadenhead’s rum kicking around here somewhere.
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It’s hard to find a liquor store that carries both expressions, let alone one. The overproof is the one that stands out.
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What stands out about it in particular?
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I offered them at my bars intermittently, as it was an outlier when outliers were hard to find. Both are certainly unique. My Mom used to say they were great, but you had to be in the mood for them, whenever we went to a restaurant that offered them. I still feel the same way.
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Someone said to me recently that Old Raj surged in popularity in the cocktail revival’s infancy, essentially because it was the rare overproof offering—and the old timey label didn’t hurt—but there are other alternatives they prefer now. Kudos to Simonson for puncturing the age myth.
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Like Martin, I picked up a bottle of the 110 proof when it first came out here, back at the end of the 1990s (I see its trademark was registered here in 1998, and in the UK in 1991, although that might have been a re-registration). There were so few gins on the market back then you really noticed when a new one hit the shelves. To me, it was essentially a higher-proof Beefeater: strong and clean, without the rich oiliness of Tanqueray; I’ve always had a hard time picking out the saffron in it, but that may be just me. It did make an extraordinarily lethal 5:1 Martini, the way I liked them back then.
(Also, like Martin, I still have a quarter of a bottle of Cadenhead’s 16 year old Demerara rum sitting in a cabinet; I should break that out.)
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I think it’s just an excellent example of a classic, well-balanced London dry gin. And if you’re looking for a little extra punch, it gives you that in spades. As for the saffron, I don’t think it adds that much in terms of flavor, but I appreciate the yellow tint it lends. Back in the day, Martinis used to have a slightly yellow hue, owing to the dry vermouths available at the time.
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