A Journey through Gins lesser known relatives (Part 4 Barrel Aged Gin)

Aged Gin is not something entirely new if you refer back to Part 1 of this series on Genever the Dutch have been barrel aging for many centuries. However it has had new life breathed into it in recent years with an explosion of new brands from around the globe.

So why would you age a Gin? Seems a little counter intuitive to the bright fresh flavours that Gin makers are normally trying to achieve? You may be right in that this style of Gin is not necessarily going to be consumed in a traditional G&T or Tom Collins and so it may not appeal to some Gin drinkers.

However aged Gin is a very exciting new development for Gin that will help consumers to realise that Gin has more to offer than simply being something you smother with tonic water, Gin should be seen as a spirit that is worth sipping on its own. Craft gins are often extremely unique and flavoursome with incredible diversity available but often limited to cocktails and the G&T through tradition and stigma.

A Journey through Gins lesser known relatives (Part 3: Old Tom)

Often talked about as the missing link between Dutch Genever and modern London Dry Gin, Old Tom is a sweetened style of Gin that was popular in the 19^th century, it is also a style that almost disappeared entirely until its recent comeback.

History

I thought I would start with the history first because this time because as you will see the modern day versions are likely somewhat different from their predecessors.

Old Tom Gin became popular in the early 19^th century there is evidence that in its early days it was around 20% and more of a liquer. By the end of the 19^th century it was closer to the 40% strength we know today.

There are a few different possible stories as to where the name Old Tom came from and no real evidence linking any of them to the name. The most common and interesting is that of Captain Dudley Bradstreet in the 1730s. So this is before the name Old Tom was popularised. The legend goes that to get around the clampdown on Gin sales at the time the enterprising captain nailed a black cat sign to the side of its house with a led pipe concealed in one of its paws. Customers would simply push a coin in the cats mouth and the captain would pour Gin down the pipe into the customers cup/mouth.

A Journey through Gins lesser known relatives (Part 2: Sloe Gin)

Sloe Gin is another classic British creation that is not widely consumed because most countries lack the vital ingredient that gives this Gin variety its characteristic flavour. This ingredient is of-course the Sloe Berry.

Sloe Berries grow on the Blackthorn plant and are not commonly mass cultivated but are often found in local hedgerows throughout the British country side. Sloes harbour an extremely bitter/astringent and unpleasant flavour. However the crafty Brits found a great use for them in Sloe Gin.

How is it made

Because the berries mostly grow wild there are limited numbers of commercially available Sloe Gins and these tend to be seasonal products. Sloe Gin is more of a traditional homemade beverage.

A Journey through Gins lesser known relatives (Part 1: Genever)

So we have talked about Gin and what Craft Gin represents in my earlier posts, one area we haven’t covered is the fringe Gin categories, you may have heard of Genever, Sloe Gin or Old Tom but perhaps had no idea of what that meant. Stay tuned over the next few days to find out what these are, how they are produced and a little bit of History about these unique relatives of traditional distilled Gin.

I thought it only appropriate to start at the beginning with Genever or Jenever as this style of Gin is the

forefather of Gin, without Genver Gin as we know it today would not exist.

Gevener /Jenever

How is it made

Gin myths are just that

Gin is great stuff but has developed a bit of a bad reputation stemming from the 17th century Gin Lane.

Those of you reading this are probably already big fans of Gin but as your sitting there in the sun enjoying a refreshing G&T or sipping on that tantalising Martini the look of pure satisfaction on your face is bound to peak the interest of those less fortunate around you.

And I am sure you have witnessed the puckering of the lips and creasing of the brow that sometimes follows when you tell them you are drinking Gin.

Here are a few of the more common complaints directed at Gin and how you can turn them around and perhaps convince those less fortunate of what they are missing out on.

William Hogarths 1751 paintings Gin Lane and Beer street,
used to depict the evils of drinking Gin.

“Mothers Ruin isn’t it” yup quite possibly if you were living in 17^th /18^th century London. Gin does have a sordid past but that all adds to its intrigue. When

How is Gin made and what makes a Gin “Craft"

For those new to distilling here is a rundown on the basic process and the additional processes that set Gin apart from other spirits. I will follow this with a few insights into the workings of a craft distillery.

First things first you start with a volume of some form of grain, molasses, potato, or other sugar containing material. This is soaked/heated to extract the sugars then a yeast is introduced to the resulting mash the yeast turns the sugars into alcohol and voila! a little filtering and you have a liquid that is ready for distilling.

This resultant liquid is relatively low in alcohol so now it is time for distillation. The liquid is heated up to around 80 degrees C where the ethanol begins to evaporate and rise up the still. Now you will note that at 80 degrees C this temperature is not high enough to evaporate water so you are effectively extracting the ethanol out of the mix leaving the water behind in the still. As the steam rises upwards in the still it reaches a point where there is a condenser this condenser is essentially a part of the still that is being cooled.  So your vapour that is mostly ethanol is cooled back below the 80 degree C mark and becomes a liquid again. This liquid runs down a separate tube and is collected ready for phase 2.

Juniper Berries are what makes Gin Gin.

So Why is Gin Unique?

Gin still has another round of distilling to go. Where your vodka is ready to bottle and your whiskey is ready to go into casks Gin still has another round of distillation to instill its unique taste.

Why you should be drinking Gin

Why Gin, why not Whiskey, Tequila or even Vodka?

Don't get me wrong i love a good whiskey, Rum or even Vodka where Gin pips them all for me is in the variety of flavours and methods available to distillers of Gin.

For me there are 2 Key reasons to drink Gin:

1) Creativity: Gin is a spirit that is not heavily defined by restrictive regulations like Whiskey as long as there is Juniper in the product and it has been created through distillation your good to go. This leaves a lot of room to be creative there are thousands actually more like millions of different botanicals and combinations of botanicals that can be used.

2) Craft: Gin can’t simply be produced by adding flavouring as with most vodka in other words there is craft as well as tradition and innovation involved in how Gin is produced.