Just a few years ago when I went to my local liquor store I had my choice of 4 or 5 brands of gin. Today I went to that same store, which isn’t very large, and had my choice of 27 (!) different brands and types. Unfortunately, it did not have the one I wanted because it is no longer made. About six years ago Tanqueray introduced a very flavorful gin which it called “Malacca Gin”. Apparently noone except me liked it because sales were very bad and Tanqueray stopped making it last year. I really can’t try all 27 varieties currently available, so my question is: which of all the available gins is most like Tanqueray’s Malacca Gin? Please note: I am not asking which is the best tasting gin available on the market, but rather which one tastes most like Malacca. I thirstily await your replies. Thank you.
Hi. I know a pretty good number of gins fairly well. I too tried Malacca and rather liked it.
I have never tried it, but in the book Classic Gin I thinked they mentioned a gin with lemon grass and some funky stuff that gave it a funkier taste. “London Burning” perhaps. In fact I’ve never even seen it offered for sale in Japan, which has just about everything.
In my opinion, nothing tastes like Malacca did. If you want to go for more unusual spices, try Citadelle (the French Gin). It is probably my #2 after Beefeater (47%), and it has cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg flavors. Good stuff.
I haven’t had a gin exactly like malacca, but the gin I usually get is Tanqueray Ten. It is very good and crisp.
I worked with a guy who claimed Beefeater gin gave him enhanced sexual performance. I didn’t really believe him. He was a real charmer, with no shortage of girlfriends, but I think the Beefeater effect was superstition on his part.