Far from an aficionado, I do tend to gravitate towards gin over whiskey, rum, or vodka. This product is widely available at TJ's locations that carry hard liquor, so it was inevitable that I'd eventually try and review it, despite it not being a top-shelf gin product.
The only thing that could be considered truly offensive about this beverage is its harsh alcohol flavor that tends to overshadow any botanicals or spices that might be lurking in the depths of the tall, thin bottle. That's to be expected when you're looking at a $15 product with 40% alcohol by volume. (Price may vary from time to time and place to place).
When I first started sampling different liquors, I would always describe gin as "tasting like a forest." That foresty flavor I'd later find out was, in fact, juniper. There's a faint bit of it here in Trader Joe's Art of the Still Organic Gin, but it's not as juniper-forward as more expensive gins tend to be.
I taste something akin to clove at the finish of this drink. I couldn't say if that's what it actually is, but there's a whisper of something along those lines in this gin. It serves well as a mixer, with even something as simple as tonic water covering up many of this product's imperfections with its subtle sweetness.
If you're looking for something that's sippable in its own right and a bit higher quality overall, I'd recommend House of Suntory Roku Gin, also widely available at Trader Joe's stores, retailing for about ten bucks more per bottle than this offering.
I'm down with white rice. It's the primary staple for over half the world's population. Brown rice? Check. Fried rice? Sure. Basmati rice? You know it. And this here Spanish rice? It's tasty.
But isn't it more like Mexican rice than Spanish rice? If you do a quick search, the internet machine will tell you Spanish rice is yellow and Mexican rice is orange. This looks orange-ish to me.
Sonia says it's pretty close to the rice her aunt would make when she was young, and it's certainly a dead ringer for the rice they serve in all the mom and pop's Mexican restaurants around here. At any rate, Spanish rice and Mexican rice are pretty similar, and this particular Trader Joe's offering is quite delicious. The seasoning blend is on point, featuring garlic, onion, paprika, and tomato powder.
Microwave and stove top heating methods are given. We nuked ours and it came out just fine.
Vegan. $3.69 for the four serving box, which comes with two separate plastic pouches of two servings each. Would buy again. Sonia and I will both throw out eight out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Spanish Style Rice.
