Presenting...American Gins (at World Gin Day)

From www.ginmonkey.co.uk

What better way to celebratethe 9th June, World Gin Day, than with a selection of gins from our neighbours across the Atlantic. This was put on at Graphic - no surprise there! - and thanks to the generosity of David aka @summerfruitcup. A man with the most impressive gin selection I have ever seen!

So we tasted the 9 selected gins blind and in flights of three, and this is what I thought:

(1) The nose doesn't give much away though does get more bubblegummy as it goes on but there are lots of red berries on the palate and a hint of spice, more coriander seed, not much (any?) juniper

(2) Slightly "meaty" nose and then the palate, wow, methnol flavours, sort of citrus pine toilet cleaner and meaty on finish. Cannot help thinking this would be a difficult mix.

(3) Slightly golden tint and that is the only thing that is interesting. The nose and palate seem...cheap, bland and overtly alcoholic. Not for me.

(4) More interesting than no 3 so straight away better. Smooth, creamy and classicly "gin-y", spice notes, nice

(5) Very different again, lots of citrus peel, palate is "pine-y", nice hit at the end, good length

(6) Nice, brief peppermint notes then lots of aniseed, it then gets quite sweet and there is quite a lot of pine-y juniper again - MY PERSONAL WINNER

(7) This isjust OK, pine-y, quite creamy texture, quite classic gin

(8) Orange shortbread nose, fruity, quiet and a hint of spice that is missing from gin no 7

(9) A butterscotch nose is nice, sweet but not very gin-y

So, now you know what I thought, what was I drinking:

1 -Square 1, and not even a gin but a botanical infused vodka
2 - Aviation
3 - Cascade Mountain, made with juniper only
4 - Pinkney Blend
5 - 209
6 - Death's Door FAVOURITE!
7 - Junipero
8 - Bluecoat
9 - Cold River, a potato base

Presenting…Courvoisier Cognac at Exmouth Arms

On a Wednesday night when I had no particularly inspiring plans a rather exciting invitation came through twitter. Would I like to attend a food and cognac pairing at a pub on Exmouth Market, somewhere I have long read about and never visited let alone looked up on a map?

Yes.

So at 7.30 I joined around 20 other young things from the press and blogging world in the upstairs room of the Exmouth Arms (part of the Bar Works group). The lovely Rebecca – Courvoisier Brand Ambassador – handed me a large glass of punch barely before I had my coat off and the combination of cognac, apple juice, apricot brandy, mint and more was beautifully refreshing on a sultry evening.

By 8pm we were sat around two long tables as head chef Paul explained the experiments he has been conducting with cognac and food, communicating the inspiration behind what was to come.

Starter: VSOP Exclusive with Squab, foie gras and pea shoots

The oily texture, tobacco and spice flavours were tempered by the strong game flavours and the fresh young pea shoots lightened the dish

Main: VSOP 12 Year Old with Grilled lobster and spring vegetables

(NB Courvoisier are the first company to introduce age statements to their cognacs, does the average consumer know what VSOP means, or XO…?)

The lobster was not overly salted since there was samphire on the plate and the seasoning was overall to be kept very simple to highlight the quality of all the flavours. This was definitely the favourite of the night in terms of the drink. The lobster tail meat was lovely but I still do not get the fuss, scallop was lovely, with the beard left on too!

Dessert: XO with Chocolate and Hazelnut cake

The intense nuttiness of the cognac is reflected in the pudding and the smooth ice cream softens the spice and allows the palate to linger longer

Then we finished with a sneaky taste of the 21 Year Old Courvoisier which was presented by itself to express its power, flavour, body and length…it was good that is for sure. However I have been lucky enough in my time to try Louis XIII and Hennessey Paradis and so if you are going to make a special cuvee then make a SPECIAL cuvee.

Saying that my conclusion of the evening, not only from what I had tasted but from the crowd in attendance and the presentation is that Courvoisier – long associated with the rapping world – is really very accessible. And that, I think, is a very smart move for any cognac house to make.


(Many thanks to @ginmonkeyuk for the invitation) 

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…