Category: Spirits

Cocktail Hour: A Few Gins for Your Consideration

Orris root; winter savory; coriander seed; juniper; orange peel; elderflower; angelica. Quick: What comes to mind when you read those words? If your response is “gin” you win.

Gin is a thing of beauty, and it’s one of my favorite distilled spirits. It is a cherished and vital component of many cocktails I order or make on a regular basis, and its diversity excites me and pleases my palate.

The universe of gin is — and has been — expanding; it is no longer “what your grandparents drink” … though they probably still do partake of it.

What’s changed is that hipsters and moms and dads and “average” Americans have discovered the charms of gin, and more and more of the distilled spirit is making its way into American homes. According to Allied Market Research, the global market for gin was valued at $14.03 billion in 2020, a market that is predicted to reach $20.17 billion by 2028. That’s a lot of gin.

With that abundance comes, of course, the opportunity for confusion to enter. You pace up and down the gin aisle at your favorite spirits merchant and are both enchanted and befuddled at the seemingly infinite selections of bottles on display. What does it all mean? “I simply want to make a good gin and tonic,” you mutter to yourself.

Save the stress, I advise, and it’s easy to do so, at least when it comes to selecting gin. Here’s my angst-free system: Buy a bottle a month, gins made in diverse countries, states, and regions, and explore.

To start you off, here are a few selections I’ve sampled recently, and they’d all be worthy of a place in your bar.

6 O’clock Gin hails from Bristol, England, and traces it origins to the fruit farm belonging to Edward and Penny Kain. The couple began experimenting with their produce, and made some great fruit liqueurs, which sold well. That was about 30 years ago, and the brand is now available in many markets in the United States.

We’ll start with 6 O’clock’s Sloe Gin, which I used to make, yes, a Sloe Gin Fizz. For those of you who don’t know what sloes are, they are small berries (Prunus spinosa) that are in the same family as plums and cherries. They are native to Europe, and when eaten alone impart a sharp, mostly unpleasant taste.

A proper British libation … (Courtesy 6 O’Clock Gin)

But take the berries and steep them in gin for six months, as 6 O’clock does, and you have a lovely concoction that’s lower in alcohol than unflavored gins — 26 percent ABV compared to the 43 percent in 6 O’Clock’s London Dry Gin — and tart and sweet in a wonderful way. The berries impart a lovely plum-red color to the gin, and, yes, it’s perfect for a Sloe Gin Fizz, among many other cocktails. I found this gin for sale at Binny’s for $36.99.

The 6 O’clock lineup includes canned Gin & Tonics. (Courtesy 6 O’clock Gin)

6 O’clock also makes a Damson Gin, using Damson plums (or Damsons, as they are called in England), which, like the sloe, are too tart for most palates to be consumed raw. But let them mingle with gin for a while and the outcome is delicious: spicy, warm, and that great sweet and tart combination. Drink this with tonic, add it to ginger beer, or use it as a cocktail base. ($36.99 at Binny’s)

If you want a tried-and-true London Dry Gin, try 6 O’clock’s version, which hews to the juniper-dominant standard known and loved the world over. I used it to make a Negroni — one of my favorite cocktails — and was more than pleased. ($36.99 at Binny’s)

Finally, and if you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary, try 6 O’clock’s Brunel, a London Dry gin inspired by the mind and creations of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It clocks in at 50 percent ABV, and is made with an extra dosage of juniper, plus green cardamom, nutmeg, cumin, cassia bark, cubeb pepper, and lemon. Mix it with tonic water and a slice of lemon, over ice, or try it in a French 75. It’s available for around $40.

We’ll go to California now, for D. George Benham’s Sonoma Dry Gin ($37 at Total Wine). It’s 45 percent alcohol by volume, and is aromatized with juniper, Meyer lemon, peppermint, coriander, star anise, cardamom, Buddha’s hand, angelica, grains of paradise, galangal, chamomile, and orris root. Yes, that’s 12 aromatics, but the resultant gin is deftly balanced and makes a great Gin & Tonic.

An American gin (Courtesy Benham’s Spirits)

Our final gin comes from Drumshanbo, Ireland, a small town located in County Leitrim. Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin, whose maker describes it as created from “Oriental botanicals, gunpowder tea, and Irish curiosity,” was the base of a cocktail I made recently called The Davy Mac. I found the recipe on the Drumshanbo site, and if you like elderflower, go for this one. It’s made of 40ml of gin and 140ml of elderflower tonic, and is garnished with grapefruit and raspberries.

Here’s what’s in this gin, and it’s a fascinating amalgam: juniper berries, angelica root, orris root, caraway seed, coriander seed, meadowsweet (mead wort), cardamom, star anise, Chinese lemon, oriental grapefruit, kaffir lime, and gunpowder tea. I love to sip this gin — a 1-ounce pour goes a long and pleasurable way — and when I mix it with the elderflower tonic … well, I have a cocktail worthy of a most perfect day.

A gin from Ireland that mixes very well with elderflower tonic. (Courtesy Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin)

Bernard Mandeville, an Anglo-Dutch philosopher, satirist, and political economist (1670-1733), wrote something on gin that I urge you to read; it’s a brief and concise piece that should amuse while you enjoy your afternoon cocktail. I’ll leave you with an excerpt:

NOTHING is more destructive, either in regard to the health, or the vigilance and industry of the poor, than the infamous liquor, the name of which, derived from Juniper in Dutch, is now by frequent use and the laconic spirit of the nation, from a word of middling length shrunk into a monosyllable, intoxicating gin, that charms the inactive, the desperate and crazy of either sex, and makes the starving sot behold his rags and nakedness with stupid indolence, or banter both in senseless laughter, and more insipid jests; it is a fiery lake that sets the brain in flame, burns up the entrails, and scorches every part within; and at the same time a Lethe of oblivion, in which the wretch immersed drowns his most pinching cares, and, with his reason, all anxious reflection on brats that cry for food, hard winter’s frosts, and horrid empty home.

Bernard Mandeville

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What I’m Drinking (and Reading) Now: The Balvenie Peat Week and DoubleWood 12, Plus Wines For Holiday Parties

An ideal way to spend an hour or so on a December evening: Re-reading Howards End, sipping The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, and attempting to quell thoughts about recent news events. Helena Bonham Carter (who is the face and embodiment of Helen Schlegel for me now) and theosophy are certainly more pleasant to contemplate than are Charlie Rose, John Hockenberry, James Levine, Roy Moore, et al, and the tax legislation before the United States Congress, and the beautiful taste of the DoubleWood helps me sublimate the angst I feel about North Korea, Foggy Bottom, the Oval Office, and the sclerotic political response to the deteriorating infrastructure and educational standards in the U.S. Doing away with tax deductions for graduate students, for money they will actually never see, but giving Betsy DeVos special treatment? Heaven help us.

Yes, E.M. Forster’s masterpiece is giving me much solace, as is The Balvenie.

“It will be generally admitted that Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is the most sublime noise that has ever penetrated into the ear of man,” speaks a character in the novel. Is The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 the most sublime spirit that has ever passed my lips? I don’t know that I can state that, though a reliable source has told me that it’s the favorite dram of the inestimable David Stewart, the Malt Master at William Grant & Sons. I’m honored to share his preference.

This man is Scottish, and he loves a good whisky.

Speaking of reliable sources, I had the pleasure of meeting Mitch Bechard, a brand ambassador for Glenfiddich, at a special tasting this past Saturday at Costco, and I have to say that William Grant has good taste when it comes to its personnel. Bechard’s relaxed manner and jocularity, not to mention his knowledge and obvious passion for spirits, meshes well with the personalities that are Jonathan Wingo and David Laird, two ambassadors for The Balvenie (Gleniddich and The Balvenie are owned by William Grant), and the three gentleman are engaging, lively, and thoughtful representatives, and they’re fun to drink with to boot.

Brechard, who lives in North Carolina, opened the following bottles — prices listed were special to the tasting; check your favorite merchant for yours — at the event, and if you want to buy something special for the holidays, go for the Ghosted Reserve. You’ll remember each sip for a long time.

Here’s how William Grant’s team describes what I and the other participants tasted:

Ladyburn Single Malt 42 Year Old – Among Scotch collectors, few Lowland distilleries are held in the same regard as the long shuttered Ladyburn. It was open only between the years of 1966 and 1975, and few bottlings of what was produced there as standalone single malts exist. Tastings notes: very soft with notes of apricots and honey. A spicy and toasty palate – quite mouth-watering. Good length with a grassy and slight almond finish. ($1,400)

Ghosted Reserve 26 Year Old – a blended Scotch from the Ladyburn and Inverleven distilleries. Interleven was “Ghosted” in 1991 and Ladyburn being closed back in 1975. It is truly one of a kind Scotch, limited to bottles on hand, never to be reproduced. Tasting notes: rich and creamy with notes of citrus and almond. ($350)

Girvan Patent Still Single Grain 25 Year Old – the original Girvan Patent Still was built by William Grant’s great-grandson, Charles Gordon, in 1963. After distillation, this whisky was aged for an incredible 25 years. Tasting notes: complex velvety smooth with an incredibly sweet flavour. With time, the flavour evolves into deeper, richer notes including chocolate orange and bake apple pie. ($270)

Glenfiddich Single Malt 21 Year Old – Using casks that once contained our own premium Caribbean rum, this expression spends its final months finishing in these Rum casks selected by our Malt Master. Tasting notes: peppery with a touch of smoke, oak, lime, ginger, and spices. ($130)

The Balvenie Port Wood 21 Year Old – The flagship single malt from The Balvenie’s little group of Port Wood whiskies. This bottle was finished in thirty year old port pipes and is a veritable masterclass in poise and balance. Tasting notes: dried red fruits, floral heather, nuts andd wood spices. ($160)

The Balvenie Single Barrel 25 Year Old – Introduced to The Balvenie single malt Scotch whisky range in 2014. Released in batches, each bottle is one of no more than 300 drawn from a single cask. The casks that Malt Master David Stewart selected for this release are chosen for having the richly spiced, sweetly honeyed character. Tasting notes: great combination of subtle spice and honeyed sweetness. ($400)

Returning to my solace, The Peat Week is another Brockhaus selection from The Balvenie. Back in November, I had lunch with Wingo and Laird, and we sampled the peaty drink from The Balvenie … read about The Peat Week here, and if you like subtle smoke, pick up a bottle for yourself or for the whisky lover on your gift list.

“Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.” That’s a rather famous sentence of Forster’s, from the novel nearest to my hand now, and when I read it again I thought of the way many of us will connect this month, at parties celebrating birth and renewal and friendship. Do connect. And if you are looking for a white wine for your parties, I’m recommending a great one: the 2016 Cantina Riff Pinot Grigio. It’ll cost you $10 or so, and it’s versatile and delicious. Read about it here, and get your party dress ready.

Want more wine and spirits? Check out these stories:

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Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
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Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs

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