Hendrick’s built an empire on limited-edition curiosities. “Another Hendrick’s Gin” boldly breaks that formula entirely.

Recently I've found myself pondering what drives a distillery to launch a new expression as a limited release product versus as a permanent flagship product.

There's a couple of reasons, of course. There is a slightly cynical interpretation: that “limited edition” has become one of the drinks industry’s most reliable marketing tools - a shortcut to urgency, hype and the intoxicating power of FOMO. But also, from a practical standpoint, sometimes a distillery releasing a limited edition might do so if they're working with an ingredient or process thats harder to do over the long term. Or it could be simply a matter of giving the distiller the freedom and space to test new flavors and concepts and gauge market reaction before committing to full-scale production. 

And this is precisely why Hendrick's’s Cabinet of Curiosities series has always fascinated me.

Hendrick’s first entered the market way back in 1999, launching its flagship Hendrick's Gin in a dark apothecary-style bottle that looked like it belonged right at home in a Victorian medicine cabinet. It made waves for being flavoured with cucumber and rose essence, a rarity back then in an market dominated by juniper-centric London Dry style gins.  And over the next two decades, the original Hendrick’s Gin would go on to become one of the defining bottles of the contemporary gin boom of the early 2000s. 

What’s especially remarkable in hindsight is that, for nearly 20 years, Hendrick’s remained a one-gin distillery. No variants, spin-offs, line extensions.

The launch of Hendrick's Midsummer Solstice in 2019 marked the beginning of Hendrick's wildly successful Cabinet of Curiosities line, sparking an annual tradition of limited release gins that kept fans enticed year after year. 

All that finally changed later in 2019, when the Hendrick's Midsummer Solstice debuted. This marked the very first Hendrick's Gin variant, and was launched as a limited edition release under the brands' Cabinet of Curiosities line. 

It was a brilliant move. The Cabinet of Curiosities gave Hendrick’s the perfect framework to experiment wildly while preserving the sanctity of its core flagship. The distillery could introduce eccentric new flavour profiles, scale production up or down depending on audience reception, and quietly retire expressions without ever making promises about permanence.

Over the years, a few Cabinet of Curiosity expressions have become so beloved that the are often considered a de-facto part of Hendrick's permanent line up anyway. The Hendrick's Orbium and Hendrick's Midsummer Solstice come to mind. Others... have not inspired the same Adora(tion). (A pun made with all love and respect to Flora Adora. I actually did quite like it, thank you very much!)

From both a branding and operational perspective, the Cabinet of Curiosities has arguably been one of the smartest long-term projects in modern gin.

Hence, you can imagine the surprise of gin lovers when this year, Hendrick's announced that their newest launch would not be a Cabinet of Curiosities addition. Instead, it was debuting "Another Hendrick's Gin", only the second permanent expression in the brand’s entire core lineup, to stand alongside the original Hendrick’s Gin as a full-fledged flagship bottling.

That alone was surprising enough. But then came sneak peek photos of the bottle. Rather than adopting the familiar black apothecary design, Another Hendrick’s Gin would arrive in stark white! A deliberate visual inversion of the original bottle, it was positioned as a mirror-image counterpart to the Hendrick’s we’ve known for the past quarter century.

As for the spirit itself? Another Hendrick's Gin would retain the same trademark botanicals of cucumber and rose, but this time, with the added use of Cacao Beans and Orange Blossom. According to Master Distiller Lesley Gracie, “Another Hendrick’s is the complete opposite of what we’ve been doing for the past 25 years, and the delectable combination of orange blossom and cacao beans is really rather unusual... [yielding a] brilliant profile featuring a depth of flavour, hint of sweetness and lift of freshness that is completely distinctive”. 

One can imagine the conviction that the team had in Another Hendrick's Gin, departing as they did from the well proven formula of Cabinet of Curiosities, and deciding instead to launch it as a new flagship bottling. Certainly, it got me extremely intrigued to try it! 

So without further ado, let's dive into Another Hendrick's Gin! 

Another Hendrick's Gin, 41.4% ABV - Tasting Notes

Aroma:  There's that classic fresh crispness of juniper and cucumber, not unlike the original Hendrick's, but here the aroma feels beautifully rounded-out with dark cacao. The aroma feels more cohesive and balanced, with some added subtle sweetness here brought forth by undertones of vanilla and licorice. 

Taste: Surprisingly, the juniper and cucumber notes are more apparent in Another Hendrick's than in the original. Perhaps, its brought out in sharper contrast thanks to the addition of deeper nuttier cacao notes. There's hints of rosewater and chocolate that weave their way onto the palate, and upon further sips, I get more distinct notes of bitter orange peel and vanilla heading into the finish. 

Finish: Medium, landing with a nutty chocolate note nuanced by rosewater and orange peels. 

Overall Thoughts

This was such an interesting tasting experience! I'd recommend tasting Another Hendrick's side by side with the original to really get a sense of its uniqueness. Firstly, despite the addition of more unique botanicals, Another Hendrick's was surprisingly even more juniper-forward in flavour than the original, putting to rest potential speculations that such a contemporary-minded gin wouldn't taste much like a gin.

Secondly, I found it rather well done how the cacao beans gave the gin a nuttier, deeper note that helped to round out and balance the flavours of the other botanicals. I really liked that Another Hendrick's Gin had a more lush, medium-bodied mouthfeel than the original, making it quite palatable for drinking neat. 

If you were expecting something that departs completely from the original Hendrick's Gin, this really isn't the case. Think of it as adjacent to the original, rather than being its clear opposite. It expresses the same beloved trademark rosewater and cucumber profile, only now nuanced with candied orange and subtle nuttiness. 

In terms of pairings, I tried Another Hendrick's mixed with tonic, wherein the orange blossom's floral zestiness were accentuated, though unfortunately at the expense of some of those beautiful nutty cacao notes. That said, I could imagine this tasting amazing in a Chocolate Negroni or a Ramos Gin Fizz! 

Add Another Hendrick's Gin to your digital bar cart and browse reviews on Drink-X.com! 

With juniper and joy, 

@lotusroot518