Gin: A guide to the world’s greatest gins. Dominic Roskrow
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as The Old Tom.
Apart from a passing reference to these drinks styles, this book is firmly focused on what might be described as the more traditional gin brands. Our selection includes a mixture of the major producers, alongside some of the more exciting of the new producers and one or two which show just how vibrant and exciting the gin sector has become.
Genever is often referred to as ‘Dutch gin’ but this is not quite right. Under European law it may be made in the Netherlands, in Belgium, and in a couple of German and French states. Though it is related to gin and is seen to be the forerunner of the premium gin spirit now being made in Britain, it also nods towards the production of whiskey, and particularly bourbon.
Genever is made from a mash bill made up of rye, corn, and malted barley. The grains are cooked at different temperatures, milled and mashed by adding hot water. This is then fermented into a rough beer or barley wine. The yeast used is normally baker’s yeast, but brewer’s or distiller’s yeast may also be used.
The resulting liquid is then distilled up to three times. Finally the resulting distillate is distilled again with a range of botanicals which must include juniper berries. The resulting genever is fruity and infused with botanicals.
Oude or jonge
Genever may, and often is, matured in barrels at this point. And it may be described as either ‘oude’ or ‘jonge’. Somewhat confusingly, this does not refer to the length of time the spirit spends in wood. A jonge genever contains a maximum of 15 per cent malt, and often a lot less. Oude genevers must have a minimum of 15 per cent malt wine content, and typically have 40 per cent, giving them more character.
Genevers are most often matured for a short period in used casks, but some are aged for considerably longer, and the likes of Zuidam in the Netherlands is using a range of cask types.
Nobody is absolutely sure where the name Old Tom comes from, but you’d be forgiven if you thought it had something to do with the expression ‘any old Tom, Dick, or Harry’, because it would seem it can be many things to many people.
Just as its naming is lost in the depths of time, so it would seem is an exact definition of it, but, in simplistic terms, it is a maltier, fruitier, and sweeter version of what we might now associate with traditional gin.
It occupies a space between the big, rich, malty genevers that the Dutch produced, and the sharper, tangy, and drier style of gin that we know as London Dry Gin. Walk into a gin palace or pub in the 18th or 19th century and order a gin, and Old Tom is likely to be what you would get. But by the 20th century its popularity had declined and London-style gin had replaced it.
The picture is further clouded by the fact that distillation techniques were evolving rapidly, there were no uniform or standardized methods of production, and, beyond the need for juniper berries to be among the botanicals, ingredients for it weren’t set in stone. Some Old Tom was exported in tired old barrels that didn’t influence the flavour of the spirit, while others travelled in active barrels and matured en route, giving them very different flavours.
The Old Tom style is being rediscovered, and leading drinks experts such as Dave Wondrich have worked with distillers to produce a modern version of the drink. Many consider the style to be the perfect stepping stone for a whisky lover to discover the joys of gin.
Gin-related spirits: Aged gins
The whisky writer Jim Murray tells a story about being with a Dutch distiller describing his latest gin, which he had aged in oak barrels for some years. As the conversation went on and they talked more about the grain used and the type of barrel, Jim suddenly declared, ‘That’s not gin, that’s whisky!’
It’s a fine line, but certainly once you remove the botanicals from the equation, the lines become severely blurred. Aged gin has become fashionable in recent years, with bars hosting their own mini-casks full of gin spirit, and creating their own take on aged gin.
There are also countries, particularly those in Eastern Europe, where stainless steel casks are prohibitively expensive and distillers have had no choice but to use oak casks.
Given the flexibility that gin offers, the idea of ageing opens up a whole new world of possible flavours, as distillers explore everything from virgin oak from continents across the world to casks that have been previously used for a vast range of different wines and spirits, including some that are highly regional and region-specific.
Gin-related spirits: Flavoured gins
This is where modern gin gets most exciting, or where the category is being devalued or destroyed, depending on your point of view. Purists say that flavoured gins are not gins at all, but are flavoured vodkas, particularly where juniper is relegated to the passenger seat. Others argue that there is no difference between these gins and liqueurs.
But it’s not that simple. Firstly, the flavours aren’t added in the most direct sense, but are infused with the gin spirit during distillation, or as part of a maturation process in the cask. And while the natural reaction is to assume that some of the concoctions sound sickly, cloying, and oversweet, that doesn’t need to be the case at all. A new wave of gin distillers argue that they are inventing new styles and exciting new drinks, whether they are strictly gin or not.
Sources for flavoured gins that have been used in the past include Shiraz grapes, clotted cream, quince, and Yorkshire tea. But a special mention needs to go to Sikkim, a Spanish gin using red tea from Sikkim, Tibet, mixed with, among other things, wild strawberries, cranberries, bilberries, bitter orange, and coriander. It is described as pleasant, tasty, and refreshing.
PRODUCER: Bramley & Gage
ABV: 43%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Gloucestershire, England
WEBSITE: www.bramleyandgage.com/6-oclock
BOTANICALS: Includes juniper berries, orange peel, elderflower
Bramley & Gage is a company originally founded by husband-and-wife team Edward Bramley Kane and Penelope Gage, who were fruit farmers in Devon. They started making fruit liqueurs in the 1980s and became rather good at it, expanding the drinks side of the business. The company is now run by a new generation of Kanes. This expression of gin was launched in 2010, and is named after the time when the great-grandfather of current directors Michael and Felicity would sit down for a gin and tonic. This stylishly packaged gin is distilled on a two-hundred-litre still known as Kathleen, and it is one of a range of products that include a sloe gin and a damson gin. The company has expanded over the last thirty years, and is now based in Gloucestershire. 6 O’clock has won countless awards, and can be tasted as part of the distillery’s tour and tasting package.
PRODUCER: Anno Distillers
ABV: 60%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Kent, England
WEBSITE: www.annodistillers.co.uk