Posted by Paul Clarke, July 23, 2008 at 5:30 PM
On occasion, I’ve touched on the different types of gin now populating the shelves of your local liquor stores. Many of them are in the growing class of so-called “new generation” gins. That is, less traditional dry gins that, while still flavored with juniper berries, push other botanicals front and center, so the taste is less juniper-forward like old-school gins such as Tanqueray, and more herbal, floral, or citrusy.
One of the first, and almost certainly the most popular, in this gin wave is Hendrick’s. Made in Scotland, and with a delicate flavor that features cucumber and rose petals more prominently than juniper, Hendrick’s is marketed in a distinctive black bottle that calls to mind apothecaries of the Victorian era—a time of croquet and cucumber sandwiches in the rose garden, all characteristics that Hendrick’s savvy marketers have used to good effect.
With a bright, floral aroma and a crisp, complex flavor, Hendrick’s is a very easy gin for ginophobes to embrace. In a martini, Hendrick’s benefits from light vermouth. The more vermouth-heavy martinis growing popular at haute cocktail bars have a better balance when made with a more assertive gin like Plymouth, whereas with Hendrick’s, the floral interplay can get overwhelming. Substituting Lillet for vermouth creates the right balance, and in delicately-flavored gin drinks and highballs such as the gin rickey, Hendrick’s is a fine choice.
Posted by Paul Clarke, May 28, 2008 at 3:15 PM
Citadelle and G-Vine gin.
What with all the talk about gin these past few months—there was American gin, Holland gin (aka genever), and even a foray into sloe gin, if you’ll recall—there’s another diversion from the standard London Dry category that should be mentioned: French gin.
"French gin" is an interesting concept. Making it entails taking a spirit that is heavily identified with the UK (while the Dutch invented gin, most of their native spirit is consumed close to home), and putting a unique local spin on it. American distillers have done much the same thing, utilizing ingredients such as lavender and apples to make their gins distinctive; for the French, regionalizing gin seems to come down to flowers.
Brands of French Gin
Citadelle is an example of a French gin that has carved out its own share of the market, and it owes much of its distinctive aroma and flavor to the violets and irises its distillers have added to the selection of botanicals.
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Posted by Paul Clarke, May 14, 2008 at 4:45 PM
I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but here in Seattle, summer is taking its time to roll around. On Friday, though, the forecast says we’ll be in the 80s, and with Memorial Day fast approaching, it looks like gin & tonic season is here.
Too bad I hate them like poison.
Well, maybe I should put that in past tense. Until recently, pouring a gin and tonic typically entailed cracking the lid on a plastic liter bottle, and pouring a fizzy, somewhat oily mix of carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup and assorted flavorings over ice with a good belt of gin. To my taste, it’s too sweet and synthetically bitter at the same time, and on those occasions when I’ve been handed a cup of gin & tonic at a barbecue, I always wind up trying to drink half the mess good-naturedly in gulps so I won’t taste the tonic, then conveniently losing my cup when I just can’t take any more.
In recent years, however, there’s been a growing movement to rescue tonic's reputation. Put off by the sickly sweetness and artificial flavors of mass-produced commercial tonic water, adventurous bartenders such as Daniel Shoemaker at Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon, have been crafting their own tonic waters using natural ingredients. Some entrepreneurs and artisinal producers are following suit, introducing small-batch tonic waters that taste of real botanicals and are lightly sweetened—a vast improvement on the stuff hiding behind yellow labels in the grocery store.
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Posted by Paul Clarke, April 2, 2008 at 2:45 PM
In case you’ve somehow missed all media coverage of drink trends in recent years, let me fill you in on something: gin is in. In today’s Los Angeles Times, staff writer Betty Hallock notes the continuing fondness for the juniper spirit among bartenders nationwide.
For decades, starting in the 1950s, it looked like gin was on the ropes, its once-strong grip on the culture of mixology eclipsed by the more approachable vodka. But with the current cocktail renaissance, gin is again in vogue. A quick glance at the shelves of your liquor store could tell you this much: new brands and bottlings of premium and artisan gins are continuing to push the tired cases of Seagram’s and Gordon’s aside.
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Posted by Paul Clarke, December 26, 2007 at 3:00 PM
Gin is typically thought of as a British tipple, and no wonder—take a stroll through your local liquor emporium, and you’ll see the gin labels are full of derby hats, regal symbols, uniformed Beefeaters, and the face of Queen Victoria. But while “London Dry” still has a near monopoly on the market, gins from the New World are freshening up the venerable category.
One of the newest and most acclaimed gins to arrive is the Philadelphia-distilled Bluecoat. Described as an “American Dry” gin, Bluecoat uses organic juniper, citrus peels and other botanicals to create a crisp, bright spirit. More herbal and citrusy than more juniper-heavy gins such as Tanqueray, the pot-distilled Bluecoat is an addition to the growing category of “New Generation” gins, a group that includes other highly acclaimed spirits such as Hendrick’s and Aviation.
When I first sampled Bluecoat neat, I was taken aback by the pronounced citrus note. But returning to the spirit, both neat and mixed in a Martini, I’ve come around to its charms: Bluecoat is certainly different from the typical dry gin, but its distinctive mix of citrus, juniper and spice finds a great partner in a decent vermouth; while I haven’t tried Bluecoat in a Vesper yet, I imagine the mix would work quite well.
Bluecoat is gradually expanding into markets across the country. Who's tried it? And what are your thoughts on Bluecoat?
