Gin and Tonic Challenge – Hendrick’s and Tonic
Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 14, 2014
Hendrick’s and Fever Tree Tonic
The people who make Hendrick’s Gin pride themselves on being just a little quirky, and perhaps a bit eccentric. Their offbeat website revels in the odd and the peculiar and tries to convince all who peruse the site that Hendrick’s Gin is special exactly because of the things which make it odd and peculiar.
The gin is produced in Scotland, in the village of Girvin, Ayrshire by William Grant & Sons (who are perhaps better known for their whisky distillations than their gin). It is made in small batches (450 litre batch size) using two unusual stills, a copper Bennett Still which has been dated to 1860, and a Carter-Head still made in 1948. These stills each serve a different purpose, but together they create a unique gin made with 11 different botanicals, and infused with cucumber and rose petals one batch at a time.
When I reviewed the Hendrix Gin I noted that the spirit had an assertive taste profile which seemed to demand more of me than my mood wished to give. Rather than being endeared to its peculiar nature, I was baffled by the peculiar flavour, and a winding bitterness which ran through the gin. This had rather unfortunate consequences for my Gin and Tonic Challenge as I found that the standard G & T cocktail I constructed with Hendrick’s Gin for my challenge carried those baffling characteristics through the Hendrick’s and Tonic Cocktail (see note below).
As a result, my G&T Score for Hendrix Gin is 74/100 pts.
As you already know, I have constructed a separate page to keep a running tally of all scores as they are published, and you may refer to that page here:
Rum Howler 2014 Gin and Tonic Challenge
As well you may read my published review of Hendrick’s Gin here:
Review: Hendrick’s Gin
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As an aside, earlier this spring, I recommended an an alternate G & T construction for this gin (shown above) whereby I mixed Hendrick’s with the much sweeter Fever Tree Tonic rather than with crisp drier, Q Tonic. The extra sweetness of the Fever Tree helps to combat the natural bitterness of Hendricks Gin and results in a very nice Gin and Tonic Cocktail.
However, I decided earlier, that for the purposes of consistency in this challenge, I am basing my G & T scores for this challenge only upon cocktails made with Q Tonic which is much more readily available to me and which I find extremely refreshing and very delicious.
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David Wallace said
I love a Hendrick’s martini, but for a gin and tonic, give me Gordon’s any day. Excellent, well balanced flavor profile that is great for mixing and yo can’t beat the value. There’s a reason it has been the best selling gin in England for over 100 years. I just can’t see paying twice the price or more for Bombay Sapphire (Although it is certainly nice too.)