No 3 Gin : The Making Of (For Gin Geeks!)

So these are the botanicals for No 3 Gin; the 3 fruits are juniper (ok, its a cone!) grapefruit peel and orange peel then the 3 spices are cardamom, coriander seed and angelica root

They go into the still, like this

The copper helmet gets bolted on

Fred, a one man show, hand crafts the gin, attaching the swans neck here

The condenser 

And all for this...No 3 Gin. The final word in a dry martini.

London Cocktail Week : Tuesday - Mini Ginstitute

So, first event of London Cocktail Week, and something I was sooooo excited about. It was a mini version of Jake Burger's Ginstitute usually based above the Portobello Star, a fabulous Portobello Road bar. Do not miss their Whisky Mac No 2 if you pass by.

The Ginstitute Batch Still

This had moved from west to east and set up shop in Seven Dials. On arrival we were offered a gin drink straight off with their own - very tasty - gin, Portobello Road. Then we settled in for some gin history from Jake himself. I have worked in the gin industry for almost year and I would say that about 40% of what we were told was new to me so totally interesting, even for the pros.

Then we had a quick break, moved on a Gin Collins, and started tasting. We had about 25 botanicals to work through, both smelling them and tasting them. We started with juniper, obviously, which Jake suggests makes up at least 40% of a gin. (Remember a gin by definition is a juniper forward distilled spirit) Then we worked through the spices from angelica to liquorice to cardamom. Next up was the fruits like lemon, lime, apricot stone and lavender. All the while we were taking notes as the important part was still to come...making our own!

Mixing Up My Gin!

I was up first and spent a few minutes discussing my favourite gins with Jake to decide which direction to take the gin. The conclusion - 'masculine', spicy, with body. Jake's assistants then stepped up and started measuring out my gin in a huge test tube. We then tried it and (very) happy with the results it was bottled, labelled and numbered so that Jake has my recipe when I want to reorder. And I will.

I did ask if anyone has tried their gin and sent it back to try again. Apparently not but that is why Jake is there, to guide you through the process, and advised you choose between 8 and 14 botanicals. I was hoping to be in the lower range but ended up with 11.

Bar Hopper Gin

The surprise of the day was the Yorkshire tea botanical. As a non-tea drinker I thought this would not be my favourite but I added a generous whack into my gin. It was slightly sweet and added nice tannins. This was specially designed between Jake and Yorkshire tea so I am not surprised it tastes so good!

I would thoroughly recommend this experience to everyone. It is not cheap but you do get a complete history of gin, you are surrounded by history and you leave with your own bottle that can be re-ordered for £37/bottle.

Fabulous. 

Presenting...G'Vine Gin

Last night, at The Juniper Society, French company G’Vine pitched their gin to two groups of ginthusiasts.

As we all know, France and Italy fight over the claim to have created gin though G’Vine make a good point in saying that Tuscany is a well known juniper source so it is very likely they were making it there, even if not the first to work out that grape based spirit + juniper = yum.

G’Vine are now based in Cognac, France, and use a base spirit made from the quite bland and acidic Ugni Blanc grape. Their gin is distilled in a Florentine still, often used in the perfume trade, and botanicals are infused in four batches for the juniper flavour, high notes, low notes and their unique selling point – since the rest of the botanicals are pretty normal - an infusion of the vine flowers. This has also inspired the name of their two gins:

#1 Floraison (40%)

Named after veraison, a key moment in the lifecycle of a vine when the leaves turn green to red before harvest.

Nose: lime, lots of lime and some floral notes

Palate: more lime, cardamom, very easy drinking with a hint of spice at the end

Mix: these flavours are gentle so simplicity is the key

 

#2 Nouaison (43.9%)

A higher ABV brings out different notes in the gin

Nose: more ginger and more juniper

Palate: More texture, almost creamy. More spice. More weight. Green spicy finish

So to conclude, not the most exciting gin. Described by the G’Vine team as a gin for gin drinkers and non gin drinkers. I beg to differ. Perhaps this is a good one for beginners but I feel other gins have more to contribute than this particular offering. Maybe its just my palate…

Presenting...Sloane's Gin

"A gin without peers"

"World's best gin and best white spirit as well as double gold at 2011 San Francisco competition"

At Juniper Society on Monday 26th March it was time to see what all the fuss was about. A bit of history on gin started the class and the more interesting bits were about Sloane himself. This 16th C. gentleman whom the gin is named after was a physicist and botanist, as well as a lifelong collector of botanicals. These were contributed to and led to the creation of British History Museum on his death and now, a gin. I wonder if he would be proud?!

Now the distilling company is Netherlands based and family owned. They but whole lemons and oranges into water baths for the flavour minus the bitter pith. The distillates are hand blended into the final product.

So to the taste and we started by having the distillates sprayed straight onto the tongue - cardamon was the most interesting with its spicy citrus notes - before trying the finished product, a lemon tinged liquid.

The nose offers - I thought - no more than a simple citrus though it was smooth in its quality, no burn coming out of the glass. The vanilla in the botanicals adds creaminess to the palate and coriander and angelica root beef up the spice at the front. There is also a floral, perfume style to it - but over all it did not stand out.

Perhaps I am just looking for something distinctive in the raft of gins that come out weekly and this did not knock me off my feet

Tip: Not one to drink with Fentimans, try a simple Schwepps G&T instead

Graphic Bar, Soho 17/20*

Location:

4 Golden Square

Website: http://www.graphicbar.com/

Visit: More often than I care to tell, mostly Monday evenings

To Note? Gin tastings by their Juniper Society on a Monday (almost weekly, check their website) are free and well worth popping in for, but be warned, you’ll get hooked!

Scores

Ambiance 3/5

Design 5/5

Drinks 4/5

Staff 5/5

Extra LBS star: Oh go on, * for the Juniper Society

I do not feel I can properly judge the ambiance here. My trips tend to be a Monday evening, the least popular night of the week (?) and offering the almost weekly gin tasting to us gin enthusiasts, with a fairly regular crowd who love introducing new people to this experience too.

The design is great; practical, large and with plenty of seating, and tables, as they offer a decent menu being an all day bar so covering lunches through to close. My brother had to be restrained from stealing the posters off their walls and their corrugated iron garage doors running along one wall remind me of my old school gym.

Drinks, well, if you don’t like gin it is not a problem but you will have found paradise if you do. These come by the glass or the small bucket – literally – and the bar men like to have fun. They will mix up all sorts of flavours on your command and are constantly working with the guys they stock (100’s) to develop unique recipes to bring out the best from the varying botanicals.

And the staff, Sarah and Adam I salute you. This chirpy pair run these Monday sessions flawlessly and always with a good pinch of fun. We’re not here for a lecture, we’re here to enjoy new gins and if we learn in the process…bonus!

If you are out in Soho and you just want something a little more…normal, this is the place to go. And book ahead into Polpo for a great culinary treat after.

Presenting...Bombay Saphire (and London Cocktail Week Day 1)

I was chuffed and privileged to make it to the Juniper Society’s much demanded Bombay Sapphire tasting (250 years of their recipe!) on Monday 10^th October. I also liked to think of this as kicking off my London Cocktail Week with a really good education on what would be in several of the week’s drinks.

On arriving, there was a mysterious black curtain stopping us peeking into the space. If this is to be done for all the events it would certainly help considering the noise levels in the main bar can get…rowdy. I was handed an Aviator – Bombay Dry, lemon juice, maraschino syrup and crème de violette. It was very sharp and although I like my cocktails bitter, needed some more syrup. We were welcomed into (very chilly) the room where 8 glasses and the revered Bombay Tasting Kit awaited us. Were they trying to ensure we stayed awake?

After a brief history and drawings of rectifying columns for vapour infusion (whew!) we started with our kits, and the various manifestations of Juniper. There was pine tree on one, more citrus on another, then resin on another. We tried some others such as orange and coriander. And soon we felt prepared to venture our noses into the glasses

Glass 1 – Single note spirit, front heavy = vapour infused juniper

Glass 2 – More weight at the back = juniper steeped for 24hrs

Glass 3 – Juniper, angelica, coriander and liquorice vapourised

Glass 4 – Juniper, angelica, coriander and liquorice macerated

Glasses 3 and 4 were, for me, much harder to tell apart

Glass 5 – Very pine driven nose but lots more orange on the palate

Glass 6 – Raw pepper on the palate from quiet nose, spicy wood notes, almond finish, smooth

Glass 7 – Some pepper, some flower, bit indistinct

Glass 8 – Lots of lemon on nose and develops more over time, cucumber palate

So the conclusion, 1 to 4 were all varietal aspects of Bombay

Glass 5 was Beefeater, glass 6 was Bombay Sapphire Dry (watch this space), glass 7 was Bombay Sapphire and glass 8 was Hendricks – the modern option less juniper driven. We then let them set up for round two and had a final glass of Bombay Punch, a little forgettable after the screw-up-your-face Aviator and the amazing education we were just privilege to.

I have always been a Bombay fan, and I freely admit this is partly down to excellent branding. However reading back over these I cannot wait to see the Dry come to the fore on the UK market.