GIN TIME by the CQ
GIN TIME by the CQ
We all love gin( don’ t we?) Of course we do; and have done for many, many years:
•“ I exercise strong self-control. I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast.”( W. C. Fields)
•“ The gin and tonic has saved more Englishmen’ s lives, and minds, than all the doctors in the Empire”.( Winston Churchill)
•“ I don’ t know what reception I’ m at, but for God’ s sake give me a gin and tonic”.( Denis Thatcher)
•“ The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day I accidentally got gin in the steam iron”.( Phyllis Diller)
•“ There’ s an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin”( for those of you with a love of music – from Billy Joel’ s great song‘ Piano Man’).
THE GIN EXPLOSION Gin has experienced something of a craft revolution for a number of decades now. The revival probably started as long ago as the 1970 / 1980’ s, then grew through the 1990’ s and then into the 2000’ s. But it has really been during the last 6 or 7 years that we have seen a real explosion in the world of gin. According to trade figures, sales of gin have exploded during this period of time and have grown more than any other spirit sold in the UK. In 2011 consumers were only buying some £ 630 million worth of gin. In the 12 months to September 2017 this figure had risen to a staggering figure of in excess of £ 1.2 billion. According to statistics we Brits bought more than 47 million bottles of gin in 2017. This set a new record and amounted to some 7 million more bottles than we bought during the previous 12 months. This is a remarkable trend and, in many ways, a remarkable story.
According to a recent YouGov poll gin is now the most popular spirit in the UK, with 29 % of drinkers voting it as their favourite spirit tipple. The second most popular spirit in 2017 was whisky( 25 %) and then vodka a close third( 23 %).
So what is this explosion in gin sales due to? There are undoubtedly a number of factors that have led to this explosion. However one of the driving factors in our gin explosion has undoubtedly been the emergence and growth of a large number of craft distilleries and the production of countless fine artisan gins. Very often the producers of these wonderful gins are small concerns( micro distillers if you like). They have made, and continue to make, a huge impact and have introduced us to a multitude of new and exciting gins. The old and well established producers are still there, producing fine bottles of gin, too. As a result gin, today, is an exciting world for both those new to gin and to the old faithful who can now try something new.
WHAT IS AND WHY GIN? As everyone will know gin is a liquor or spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries. The complete story of how gin is crafted from beginning to end is complex. Gin production is a true craft. It is impossible to do justice to the hard work, care, creativity and enthusiasm that goes into gin production today in this article. There are, as a fact, many different methods of producing gin. I, therefore, apologise now to any gin maker, who may read this article, if I am about to over simplify or understate their work. I am probably about to do both; but here we go. Essentially you produce or distil your base neutral spirit( effectively the same neutral spirit as vodka) and then distil it, or re distil it, with botanicals. What is a botanical? A plant or something obtained from a plant is the simple description I guess. Whilst, in botanical terms, gin is centred on the juniper berry it is often the mixture of the remaining botanicals in the recipe that gives gin its distinct taste and aroma. As such, all gins are different, having their own unique taste and their own unique qualities.
There is a world of choice when it comes to the aromatic material and botanicals that go into the various mixes that produce the gins we all buy and love today. So, whilst gin is predominantly juniper based, our innovative gin distillers are now offering a range of gins infused with a variety of different botanicals. Many of these are locally sourced botanicals from the plant world in and around the area where the gin is crafted. Without these, and without the plant world, we wouldn’ t be purchasing the many varied and wonderful gins that we have at our disposal today.
In addition gin is a very versatile spirit. It works well with tonic( perhaps its traditional partner), it works well in all manner of different cocktails and can work well on its own( with a few nice big lumps of ice in it!). It is perhaps this, gin’ s versatility, together with the huge array of different gins available( each with their own unique botanical mix) that has now made gin the attraction it is to us consumers in the UK. One gin differs from the next. We can taste an array of different flavours in each glass we drink. We get different aromas on the nose. We are opened up to a world of different sensual experiences, varying from one glass to the next.
Finally, before we depart this part of the story, lets just deal with‘ classic’ gin and‘ contemporary’ gin. Many of you may have heard these terms banded around. What is the difference? Classic gins are, effectively, juniper dominated and have heavy juniper notes. Their distillation will include a number of other botanicals, but juniper dominates( they remain subservient, in a way, to the juniper). On the other hand, contemporary gins, whilst maintaining juniper as a primary flavour, have a whole range of other flavours that come out from the use of other botanicals. These can either compliment or even overwhelm the juniper. So if you want a juniper based gin, you should go for a classic gin( e. g. like Tanqueray). If you want a wide mix or cocktail of tastes, then go contemporary( e. g. like Hendricks with its rose and cucumber). Just to confuse the picture even more you may also have come across flavoured gins. These are gins infused with extra flavours including fruits and herbs. So we can also find things like rhubarb and ginger gin, pineapple gin, pink grapefruit gin, quince gin, cherry gin, and lemon drizzle gin – the list goes on!
SOME FINE GINS TO TRY AND WHERE TO FIND THEM With countless gins now available, the question is what do you try and where do you go to try them? Throughout 2018 it is hoped that we will be able to give you a few pointers in both directions. So keep a look out for‘ Gin Time’ throughout the year. For January, though, you could do worse than start your gin journey at one of the two‘ Contessa’ bars on the Wirral. One is situated in the Hillbark Hotel in Frankby, the other in the Leverhulme Hotel in Port Sunlight. They both have a comprehensive selection of classic, contemporary and flavoured gins. If you want to venture further afield, there is a third‘ Contessa’ bar at the Haigh Hall Hotel near Wigan. From all three of these bars, a few suggestions for you to try: wirrallife. com 33