Case and point, I think that it works well paired with ingredients like Allspice Dram, or Pear Brandies. Saveur’s recipes for this Allspice and Pear Gin and Tonic seems custom designed for this gin. A regular Gin and Tonic I find to be a little too much ginger, coriander and cumin. These are interesting spices, but ones that I don’t find as wanted in my G&T. And it’s even less my bag with lemon or lime. They just don’t seem to go. Even the word Oriental, hints at a simpler time when all of Asia’s vast bounty (and parts of baltic/Eastern Europe and Northern Africa) was reduced to a simple “other” by Europeans. Firstly, the name. “Opihr” seems a play on the place name Ophir, a place of legendary untold wealth in the bible. In the case of the gin, it’s pronounced “o, peer!” The story that the botanicals tells is a romanticized narrative of the European/Asian spice trade, out of which the botanical accord of gin emerged from in the 15th and 16th centuries.

I find Opihr Oriental Spiced Gin and intriguing offering, from especially a mainstream distiller. It truly pushes the envelope of what gin can be. Fans of classic gins only are best advise to look elsewhere. The nose is intense with cardamom and ginger, with notes of toasted cumin seed and curry powder underneath. It’s incredibly spicy on the nose.