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Archive for the ‘Gin’ Category

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Gin and Tonic Challenge – Bombay Sapphire Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 18, 2014

Bombay Sapphire & Tonic SAM_1253Bombay Sapphire is a brand of gin owned and distributed by Bacardi. It was launched in 1987 and draws its unusual name from a competition where several marketing agencies were asked to submit possible names and bottle designs for the new Gin. Bombay Sapphire, the chosen name, refers to the British Empire and the heritage for the spirit in India as gin was an extremely popular spirit during the time of the British Raj. The Star of Bombay (featured on the label) is a famous Indian Sapphire now on display at the Smithsonian Institute.

Bombay Sapphire is produced through a double distillation of a neutral grain spirit with botanicals added during the second distillation. The botanicals used in its production are, Spanish almonds and lemon peel, West African grains of paradise, Chinese licorice, juniper berries from Tuscany, orris root from Italy, angelica root from Saxony, coriander seed from Morocco, cassia bark from Indo China, and cubeb berries from Java.

When I reviewed this spirit I commented upon how well-balanced its flavours were which made it hard for me to distinguish individual botanicals. However, one aspect of the flavour which did stand out (with the juniper of course) was the vibrant citrus. When I mixed my Gin and Tonic cocktails for this challenge, I found that the push of fruit worked particularly well when I replaced the hit of lime in my mixed drink with a hit of lemon instead (see recipe here).

Based upon how nice the resulting Gin and Tonic cocktail tasted with that hit of lemon, my G&T Score for the Bombay Sapphire Gin was 87/100 points.

I am keeping track of all of these scores here:

Rum Howler 2014 Gin and Tonic Challenge

As well you may read my published review of Bombay Sapphire here:

Review: Bombay Sapphire Gin

Posted in Awards, Extras, Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Gin and Tonic Challenge – Citadelle Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 16, 2014

Citadelle and Tonic SAM_1243Citadelle Gin has a history which stretches back to 1775 when King Louis XVI authorized two Frenchmen, Carpeau and Stival, to open a genievre distillery at the Citadelle in Dunkirk, which would serve as the Royal Distillery with an exclusive 20 year privilege. The Citadelle Distillery produced about 1000 litres of genievre per day which was predominantly shipped in small casks for sale in England, where gin was very popular.

About 200 years later in 1989,  Alexandre Gabriel of Cognac Ferrand, recognized that in France, gin had become more of an industrial spirit with much of the heritage and refinement lessened by time. He decided to create a handcrafted gin using small copper pots in the style and tradition of the Citadelle Distillery of old. Fortunately records existed of the old gin making techniques at the Citadelle Distillery, and after several years of research Alexandre was successful in distilling an old style handcrafted gin under the Citadelle name at the Cognac Ferrand facilities in Cognac, France.

When I reviewed Citadelle Gin, I noted how well-balanced the flavour was in particular how the spicy cardamom and coriander seemed to play so nicely with the strong push of bitter juniper. This combination resulted in some fantastic cocktails including a recipe I designed called the March Lion. The strong balanced flavours also results in a fantastic Gin and Tonic!

My G&T Score for the Citadelle and Tonic based on my standard cocktail is 89/100.

Just so you do not have to keep track of these scores yourself, 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 Citadelle Gin here:

Review: Citadelle Gin

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Posted in Awards, Extras, Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Gin and Tonic Challenge – Broker’s Gin

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 15, 2014

Ric Flair with BrokersBroker’s Gin was created in 1998 by the Dawson Brother’s (Martin and Andy) from a recipe reported to be over 200 years old, and produced from a traditional copper pot distillation. Like the recipe for the gin, the distillery (near Birmingham England) which produces the gin is over 200 years old as well. The base alcohol for the gin a wheat-based, quadruple-distilled, pure grain spirit, in which its ten natural botanicals are steeped for 24 hours before the spirit being processed through a final, fifth distillation.

According to the Broker’s Gin Website, the botanicals used to produce Broker’s Gin and their sources are, juniper berries from Bulgaria or Macedonia, coriander seed from Bulgaria, orris root from Italy, nutmeg from India, cassia bark from China, cinnamon from Madagascar, liquorice from Sri Lanka, orange peel from Spain, lemon peel from Spain and angelica root from Belgium or France.

When I reviewed Broker’s Gin I found a very traditional flavour profile which was ideally suited for all gin cocktails (including the quintessential Gin and Tonic). During my tasting exercises for this competition however, I could not help but try an interesting new Gin and Tonic recipe I came across which is called the Ric Flair Cocktail. In this cocktail, the more typical hit of lime found in most G & T mixed drinks is replaced with and ounce and a half of Grapefruit juice (see photo to the left). The result is delicious. (See the recipe for the Ric Flair Cocktail here)

Of course the standard Gin and Tonic cocktail is wonderful as well, and my G & T Score for the Broker’s Gin is a very respectable 88/100 points.

I am keeping track of all of these scores here:

Rum Howler 2014 Gin and Tonic Challenge

As well you may read my published review of Broker’s Gin here:

Review: Broker’s London Dry Gin

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Note: I was provided a bottle for this challenge by Woodman Wines and Spirits Inc. who are the distributors of Broker’s Gin in Ontario.

 

Posted in Awards, Extras, Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Gin and Tonic Challenge – Broker’s Gin

Gin and Tonic Challenge – Hendrick’s and Tonic

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 14, 2014

Hendrick's and Fever Tree Tonic

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.

Posted in Awards, Extras, Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Gin and Tonic Challenge – London No. 1 and Tonic

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 13, 2014

SAM_1232London No. 1 Original Blue Gin is a product of Gonzalas Byass who are a Spanish wine & cellars company which also produces a variety of distilled spirits including brandy, anisette, botanical vodka and of course gin. Their gin is triple distilled (from English grain in London, England) on a traditional pot still in small batches by Master Distiller, Charles Maxwell. According to the London No. 1 website the gin is distilled with 12 key botanicals which include: Juniper from Croatia; Angelica root and Savory from France; Coriander from Morocco; Cassia bark from China, Liquorice from Turkey, Cinnamon from Ceylon, Almond from Greece; and Lemon peel, Orange peel, Lily root and Bergamot from Italy.

The product was first test marketed in Spain, and has since been launched in limited quantities internationally including here in Canada. It is bottled at 47 % alcohol by volume ensuring a more concentrated flavour than more traditional spirits which are bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

When I reviewed London No. 1 Blue Gin, I noted the spirit had strong floral flavours rippling though flavour profile and a building spiciness, which (the spiciness in particular) seemed ideally suited for cocktails. And although the strong floral characteristic of London No. 1 may seem similar to what I described yesterday when I wrote about another blue gin, Magellan Iris Flavoured Gin, I found that the floral characteristic withing London No. 1 Gin was softer and less perfume-like such that the the spirit was (in my opinion) much nicer in all manner of cocktails including the Gin and Tonic. This suitability of London No. 1 Blue Gin for mixology is positively reflected in my G & T Score for the Rum Howler Gin and Tonic Challenge.

This G&T Score for the London No. 1 Blue Gin, (based on my standard G & T cocktail) is 84/100.

Just so you do not have to keep track of these scores yourself, 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 London No. 1 Blue Gin here:

Review: London No. 1 Blue Gin

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Note: I was provided a bottle for this challenge by Woodman Wines and Spirits Inc. who are the distributors of London No. 1 Gin in Ontario.

 

Posted in Awards, Extras, Gin, Gin Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Gin and Tonic Challenge – London No. 1 and Tonic

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