Bars open. In this video I’m reviewing the 23rd St. Signature Gin, and I picked it up in a small 200 ml bottle because I was topping up my airport spirits allowance. The standard 700 ml bottle is available online and goes for around $80 SGD, and this one sits at 40% ABV. I crack open a brand new seal (well… it’s been sitting for over a year, so the plastic was a bit annoying), then I run my usual gin routine: neat, shaken with ice to chill, and finally on the rocks. Neat, it hits hard—there’s a pretty brutal burn—but the upside is a sharp, tangy citrus profile that actually made me salivate. I even got a hint of something like licorice / old-school sweets in the background. Once I shook it with ice, the harshness disappeared and the gin became incredibly fragrant; the citrus stayed, and the juniper came through much clearer. On the rocks, after dilution, it stripped back a lot of the citrus and turned into a more basic, entry-level gin vibe—honestly, at that point I’d rather drink a Bombay Sapphire. My takeaway: I do recommend this gin, but drink it chilled (shaken over ice), not diluted on the rocks.