Gin: A guide to the world’s greatest gins. Dominic Roskrow
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BOTANICALS: Juniper, orris root, coriander, angelica, cassia bark, liquorice, cubebs, Kentish hops, Kentish lavender, Kentish rosehips, camomile, Kentish samphire, lemon, bitter orange, kaffir lime leaves
This is another gin from Anno Distillers, which makes Kent Dry Gin, and uses local botanicals including Kentish hops and lavender in its recipes.
This gin was originally released as a limited edition of 1,000 bottles to celebrate founders Andy Reason and Norman Lewis’s sixtieth birthdays. However, the distillery says that because of the overwhelmingly positive response it received from consumers, the distillery has decided to continue with it. As it was a celebratory release, the distillers say they made sure that the flavour would burst in the mouth. This was done by combining a selection of local hops, woody botanicals, and enticing spices with a full 60% ABV. The bold flavours work particularly well in a negroni. Just months after its release, Anno 60 Squared claimed the title of ‘Specialist Drinks Category Winner’ at the Taste of Kent Awards in March 2016.
PRODUCER: Adnams
ABV: 40%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Southwold, England
WEBSITE: www.adnams.co.uk/spirits/our-spirits/distilled-gin
BOTANICALS: Juniper berries, orris root, coriander seed, cardamom pod, sweet orange peel, hibiscus flowers
Adnams is a highly respected award-winning brewer, but it had always been a desire of chairman Jonathan Adnam to make distilled products including whisky. Copper House was built on the brewery’s Southwold site after the company successfully overturned arcane rules that forbade brewing and distillation under the same roof. Distiller John McCarthy and his team now make a range of distilled products, but this was the starting point, and it has won awards regularly. The distillery points to the use of hibiscus flowers as the least expected ingredient. The team say they fell in love with the hibiscus petals’ bitter floral taste when they tasted it in hibiscus tea. The distillery also makes an enjoyable eau de vie based on its Broadside bitter.
PRODUCER: Anno Distillers
ABV: 43%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Marden, Kent, England
WEBSITE: www.annodistillers.co.uk
BOTANICALS: Juniper, orris root, coriander, angelica, cassia bark, liquorice, cubebs, Kentish hops, Kentish lavender, Kentish rosehips, camomile, Kentish samphire, lemon, bitter orange, kaffir lime leaves
The co-founders of Anno Distillers are bringing a scientific approach to the making of a gin, but they have combined the classroom ethos with a friendship and trust borne of years working together, and combined it with a joint passion for great-tasting spirits.
Research and development chemists Andy Reason and Norman Lewis took early retirement from GlaxoSmithKline in 2011 and set about creating premium gin. With the help of Andy’s daughter Kim, who handles the marketing side of the business, they have created a gin that stays close to a traditional gin model but gives it a Kent twist with a range of locally produced botanicals. The gin is produced
PRODUCER: Davos Brands
ABV: 42%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Portland, USA
WEBSITE: www.aviationgin.com
BOTANICALS: Juniper berries, Eletaria cardamomum, lavender, sarsaparilla, coriander, anise seed, dried sweet orange peel
Aviation Gin is the result of a special partnership between Portland’s House Spirits Distillery and bartender Ryan Magarian, who shared a vision of creating a renegade regional gin brand. The aim was to move away from an overdependence on juniper and to push forward the rich floral and savoury notes of the spices and flowers common in the Pacific Northwest. This, the team argued, would create a decidedly American style of gin. The name Aviation is inspired by a cocktail created at New York’s Hotel Wallick, containing gin, maraschino liqueur, and freshly squeezed lemon juice. It gave Ryan Magarian the inspiration to create exciting cocktails with gin.
PRODUCER: Caledonia Spirits
ABV: 42%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Vermont, USA
WEBSITE: www.caledoniaspirits.com
BOTANICALS: Juniper berries, honey
There’s a bee in the logo of Caledonia Spirits, producer of Barr Hill Gin and its sister, Tom Cat, which is aged in new oak barrels. And honey is key to the spirits, produced in Caledonia County, Vermont. This gin uses raw honey provided by the region’s bees, and the name refers to the inspiration behind this gin, the view from the top of Barr Hill Nature Reserve. The inspiration for the distillery comes from Todd Hardie, who first bought a beehive aged twelve, and who ran Honey Gardens Apiaries for thirty years, before teaming up with local home-brew store owner Ryan Christiansen, who is now head distiller at Caledonia. The company has been making gin and vodka since 2009 and has struggled to keep up with exceptional demand.
PRODUCER: Pernod Ricard
ABV: 45%
REGION AND COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: London, England
WEBSITE: www.beefeatergin.com
BOTANICALS: Juniper berries, Japanese sencha tea, Chinese green tea, grapefruit peel, lemon peel, almonds, Seville orange peel, coriander seed, orris root, liquorice root, angelica root, angelica seed
Beefeater is, of course, one of the great gin brands, but this brings an Eastern twist to the basic recipe, and includes both Japanese and Chinese tea in the ingredients. The idea came about when master distiller Desmond Payne was travelling in Japan and decided to mix some Beefeater with green tea. You’d have to ask him why, but the resulting drink – giving a whole new meaning to the name G & T – inspired him to spend the next eighteen months experimenting with different teas and botanicals before settling on this. Beefeater 24 is described as a smooth and citrus-flavoured gin ideal for making modern cocktails.