Imagine my joy upon opening a bottle of Hotel Chocolat cocoa gin on the morning of my birthday; two of my most favourite things on this planet combined into one little bottle (and when I say little bottle I really do mean it, it’s 250ml). Everyone loves Hotel Chocolat don’t they, it’s as close to sex as food gets. The chocolates are to die for and their kirsch cherries are the stuff of dreams.
As you can probably guess, I’d built this gin up in my head before I’d even taken it out of the box. I was expecting a chocolate and gin sensation, something probably not sweet but unmistakably cocoa.
So imagine my disappointment upon trying the gin and experiencing what I imagine paint stripper to taste of. This is a truly awful gin. It’s thin and sharp, you cannot make out even the slightest hint of juniper at all, and it makes you pull a really weird face because, quite frankly, it’s disgusting. It doesn’t taste of cocoa, it doesn’t smell of cocoa, the only positive thing to say about this gin is that it’s 42%, so if you could stomach enough of it, you’d be pissed enough to not notice how horrible it is.
I tried it with Fentimans tonic, and it was rancid. I tried it neat, it was bitter and left an awful taste in my mouth. I tried it with ginger ale, which made it slightly more drinkable, but each time I tried this I ended up pouring it away. Pouring gin away is unheard of in my house – that’s how bad this gin is!
My only advice to you if you’re reading this wondering whether to buy any Hotel Chocolat cocoa gin is to spend your hard earned cash on something else. At £15 for a 250ml bottle of what tastes likes turps (I imagine), this is the worst investment you’re ever going to make. You might as well just neck a bottle of Mr Muscle, it would probably be much nicer. DISCLAIMER – obviously don’t drink household cleaners. Or this gin.
When I drank it
In the garden and relaxing at home
What I used as a garnish
I didn’t garnish it, I mostly just threw it away
Is it worth the money?
NO! Spend the £15 on some actual chocolates, or put it towards a proper bottle of gin.
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