So You Say You Don’t Like Gin…

I can’t do London Dry Gin.
I realize that I just alienated all the gin and tonic lovers who might frequent this blog, but hear me out. First of all, almost everyone has some sort of liquor that just doesn’t agree with them, and mine is London Dry Gin. My brother and I discovered this the hard way when just two gimlets one evening caused me to have a violent reaction that thankfully made it safely into his downstairs toilet. London Dry Gin just doesn’t agree with me. I’ve tried sampling other brands (Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, Hendricks, Beefeater), but nothing has worked. I always feel myself beginning to retch as soon as that dry juniper liquor meets my esophagus. Then I tried something really different:

St. Augustine Distillery’s New World Gin.

img_1070Like most of the spirits to come out of this Florida distillery, the St. Augustine Gin is significantly lighter and sweeter than most of its contemporaries. Unlike with popular dry gins, I found that I could drink this one straight or in a cocktail with no trouble whatsoever. “Perfect,” I thought, “I’ve found my gin.” For several months, I assumed that this New World Gin was a rare and unique find— that pretty much all others would be in the London Dry style. Then I started doing some research into the history of gin and realized how much variety there really is.

The exact origins of gin are uncertain, but we know that the Dutch honed gin production into an art form during the Middle Ages. In fact, the name even comes from “genever,” Dutch for “juniper,” which is the chief congener making up gin’s flavor profile. Sporting a yellow color, oily texture, and sweet taste, early Dutch gin was very different from the dry British stuff (which was still a few centuries away). By the 1600s, the Dutch relied heavily on gin not just as a beverage, but as a preservative during their long stints at sea. Gin was an invaluable tool in their trade and exploration, and other countries began to refer to it as “Dutch Courage.”
The British adopted gin production more than a century later in the late 1700s, but it didn’t have nearly so positive a reputation. Sometimes called “Mother’s Ruin,” the British authorities made a point of cracking down on home distillers to keep gin regulated and —more importantly— keep it taxable. After all, it’s not like British taxation ever backfired at any other point in history, right? The effect of British taxation on the liquor trade will have to be its own post; there is a very complex history there, especially where it relates to Irish Whiskey, but back to the topic on hand…

source: wikimedia commons
source: wikimedia commons

Charles Tanqueray is lifted up as the perfecter of the London Dry Gin in the 1830s, and this became the predominant style. Ask for gin in most American bars, and this is what you will be served.

As for gin cocktails, we owe their existence largely to the medical needs of the 19th Century British military. British soldiers stationed in India were required to consume large amounts of the unpleasant anti-malarial drug quinine, and the soldiers found its bitter taste revolting. As early as the mid 1820s, they had found a creative way around it though: mix the bitter medicine with a little carbonated water, citrus, sugar, and other ingredients, and then combine the resulting solution with a good dry gin. The soldiers found this concoction a much more palatable way to stave off malaria, and you can still order this piece of British military ingenuity at any liquor bar today: it’s a gin and tonic.

source: wikimedia commons
source: wikimedia commons

The gin and tonic isn’t the only classic cocktail to serve in the British military though. There’s also the gimlet (2 oz dry gin, 1/2 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup), which finds its origin among British sailors in the same era. While British ground troops in India used gin to ward off malaria, the chief foe on the high seas was scurvy, a condition caused by lack of vitamin C. Of course, the best source of vitamin C has always been citrus fruit, so British sailors began keeping potted lime trees aboard their ships to have an ample supply on hand— and yes, this practice is where the slang term “Limey” originates. Rather than take their lime juice straight, British sailors combined it with sugar and gin to make gimlets, which soon gained popularity on land as well.

Now that we’ve talked about our standard dry gin history and cocktails, it’s time to address the issue that first prompted this post:

London Dry is absolutely not the only style of gin.

The number of distillations and the congeners introduced at different points in the distillation process can have a huge impact on flavor, texture, and color, creating a whole world of possibilities beyond the traditional dry stuff. For example, the St. Augustine Gin features prominent orange notes (as befits anything distilled in Florida), and the “New World” title is a nice tip of the hat to the importance of citrus and gin in European exploration. Another of my favorites is Bombay Sapphire East, which is triple-distilled with hints of spice and citrus, making for a lighter, almost effervescent gin. Indochine restaurant here in Jacksonville makes an outstanding Tom Collins by combining this gin with a splash of elderflower liqueur. It’s a little different, but it’s an amazing drink for a humid summer evening.
As for other styles, the famed Dutch Genever is still available today and still bears its sweet and oily consistency. There’s also Plymouth gin, which carries earthier tones; Pink Gin, which utilizes a heavy dose of Angostura Bitters; and my most recent gin-related discovery, Sloe Gin, a gin liqueur produced with sloe berries (a member of the plum family found on blackthorn trees)— the stuff tastes like cough medicine, but looking at the history of medicinal gin cocktails, maybe that’s appropriate. Lastly, there’s my favorite variety of gin, and I will fully admit that there’s a shade of narcissism spurring my affection here:

img_1069Old Tom Gin is a British style, but unlike the London Dry, it gets a second distillation to remove that distinctive malty taste. The double-distilled gin is then combined with sweetened botanical congeners for a far lighter gin that doesn’t have nearly the bite of the London Dry. Old Tom’s lighter floral notes defined the flavor of the first wave of martinis, and it was actually my search for the original martini (post coming soon) that led me to this gin. The only brand I’ve been able to find in my area so far is Hayman’s, and it is outstanding. Even my most gin-averse friends enjoy this stuff; it’s got just enough of the traditional gin profile to please a London Dry diehard, but it’s got the softer floral complexity to appeal to other palates as well. If you’ve never had an Old Tom Gin, I highly recommend tracking one down, and remember, this gin is at its best in a martini.

I hope this study of gin has been helpful. If you’re like me, gin is one of the more intimidating spirits to work with, but when you really get into its history, there’s a lot to appreciate and enjoy. Whether it’s in a gimlet or a negroni or mixed with a few ounces of tonic or soda with lemon, gin brings a rich heritage and a wide variety to the table. And if you’re one of those people who simply “doesn’t like gin,” ask your bartender about some of these other varieties. You might just find a new favorite.

Cheers.

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