Category — Gin

The Tailspin is a lovely little cocktail I first came across in How to Booze: Exquisite Cocktails and Unsound Advice.  Combining gin, sweet vermouth, green chartreuse and a touch of Campari, the Tailspin is a flavor-packed cocktail colored with interesting hues of both green and red.

For a drink with some very potent flavors, namely chartreuse and Campari, the Tailspin is surprisingly well balanced, layering its flavors quite well.  Sweeter and more herbal than a Last Word or Negroni, it’s an interesting little concoction.  And composed of ingredients that any respectable bar will carry—plus many well-stocked home bars—it’s easy to make.

The Tailspin

1 oz dry gin
1 oz Green Chartreuse
1 oz sweet vermouth
2-3 dashes Campari

Rinse a chilled glass with Campari, and discard the excess. Stir other ingredients with ice, and strain into the glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

The Tailspin is sweet and herbal with a hint of bitterness, and the underlying gin isn’t lost in the background.  I liked it overall, but for round 2, I used more Campari to temper the sweetness. Rather than simply using it as a rinse, I dumped a full bar spoon into the drink.  The result adhered better to my personal tastes, which lean toward the bitter.

If you like the Tailspin, try the Bijou.  Simply substitute orange bitters for the Campari, and you’ve got it.

Broker’s Gin is distilled near Birmingham, England in traditional pot stills, and though Broker’s Gin was created in 1998, its recipe dates back 200 years.  Broker’s is a London dry gin, with the base spirit distilled from English wheat, and it’s crafted with a bevy of herbs, spices and fruits imported from around the world.

On the nose, there’s no mistaking Broker’s for anything but a London Dry style gin. It’s an uncompromising, unapologetic classic gin, with very apparent juniper notes and some citrus.  It adds a bit of cinnamon and coriander to the mix, plus some floral notes, which ups its complexity and results in a pretty pleasant smelling spirit.

Tasted neat, the juniper flavor jumps on your palate, with more citrus and some peppery spice.  The mouth feel is a bit heavy and oily, coating the tongue as the flavors work their way around the mouth. Throughout it all, Broker’s remains very smooth and drinkable.  It finishes very warm and lingers on the tongue with a bit of spice.

Adding a bit of ice tempered the oily texture a bit, and adding a lemon peel brought out more of the gin’s citrus notes.  While the ice-and-lemon-peel variety works well enough, it kills some of the juniper and spice you get when tasting Broker’s neat.

Mixed into a martini, Broker’s Gin holds its own.  While some new western style gins are quite popular these days, for me, nothing makes a martini quite like a London Dry style gin.  To compensate for Broker’s relatively high proof (94), I stirred with ice a bit longer than usual to get the proper dilution.

Overall, Broker’s Gin is a quality spirit.  It’s a gin that shines through in martinis and other classic cocktails and stands up well when mixed with tonic, which, despite its popularity as a gin mixer, often overpowers the spirit entirely.  Plus at only about $20, it’s a hell of a bargain.

Stats:
- London Dry Style
- 47% Alcohol by Volume
- Bottle top adorned with a nice hat
- $20

Click for more liquor reviews.

Recently 30 booze experts tasted 1,024 premium spirits for the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.  Entries represented 58 countries and six continents.  Some winners are noted below.

Premium Awards

Distillery of the Year – Glenmorangie Distillery
Importer of the Year – Moët Hennessy USA
Best in Show, White – Trago Silver Tequila ($40)
Best in Show, Whisky – Isle of Jura Prophecy ($70)
Best in Show, Brandy – Père Magloire 20 Year Old Calvados ($100)
Best in Show, Liqueur – Grand Marnier 100th Anniversary ($135)

“Best of” Awards

Vodka – Chase ($40)
Flavored Vodka – Rain Organics Cucumber Lime ($21)
Gin – Beefeater 24 ($30)
Rum – Vizcaya VXOP Solera  ($38)
Extra-Aged Rum – Pusser’s 15 Year Old ($55)
Cachaça – Leblon ($30)
Reposado Tequila – Trago Reposado ($45)
Añejo Tequila – El Jimador Añejo ($30) and Mujer Bonita Añejo ($25) – TIE
Mescal – El Zacatecano Añejo Mescal ($42)
Bourbon – Elijah Craig Single Barrel ($40)
Canadian Whiskey – Seagrams VO ($23)
Irish Whiskey – Bushmills 1608 ($100)
Blended Scotch – The Grand Bark Equinoxe ($55)
Single Malt Scotch – Ardbed Single Malt ($85)
Armagnac – Comte de Lauvia 21 Year Old ($35)
Pisco – Pisco O Torontel ($35)
Cream Liqueur – Godiva White Chocolate ($30)

More info here – www.sfspiritscomp.com

While yesterday was a rye day, today was most definitely a gin day.  With an assortment of gins at hand (Plymouth, Tanqueray Ten, Sapphire, Aviation and Martin Miller’s) I wanted to drink either something new, or something I hadn’t had in awhile.  Enter Esquire Drinks.

I perused several gin-based cocktail recipes before landing on the Hearst, a fine cocktail that I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing for at least a few years.  Comprised of gin, sweet vermouth—rather than the classic dry vermouth and gin pairing—orange bitters and aromatic bitters, it’s a well-balanced cocktail that packs a boozy wallop.

The gin and sweet vermouth work together to create a gorgeous aroma and clean, crisp flavor.  I tried it with a few different gins, but settled on Plymouth, my go-to source for sustenance, inspiration and general happiness.

Hearst Cocktail Recipe:

2oz gin
1oz sweet vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters

Stir with cracked ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Bulldog Gin has partnered with bartenders around the globe to develop some refreshing cocktails as we prepare for warmer months ahead.

Adam Dennis, Bartender at Box 109 in Newton, MA debuted his drink, “Henry VIII,” a take on the Corpse Reviver #2.

Henry VIII

1.5 oz. Bulldog Gin
1.5 oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. Cointreau
2 dashes Kubler Absinthe
1 whole Squeezed Lime

Shake well and strain. Serve in a martini glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

Thomas Tripoulas, bartender at New York City’s Hudson Hotel created the “Tower of London,” which features Asian-influenced ingredients like green tea and sake.

Tower of London

2 oz. Bulldog Gin
1.5 oz. St Germain
2 oz. Green Tea
1 oz. Simple Syrup
0.5 oz. Sake

Shake well. Serve in a highball or Collins glass over ice. Garnish with lychee.

Juan Romo of London’s Drunken Monkey used passion fruit and cucumber to develop his summer drink, called “Blondie.”

Blondie

2 oz. Bulldog Gin
0.5 oz. Passion Fruit Liqueur
0.5 oz. Simple Syrup
1 piece of Cucumber
1 slice of Passion Fruit

Muddle cucumber and shake well. Serve in a martini glass. Garnish with passion fruit slice.

Along with the above cocktail recipes, Bulldog also premiered the winning recipe from its 2010 Cocktail Contest.  Raymond Bernard from Massachusetts fashioned the “Mint Cherry Jubilee,” describing it as a “simple, sweet and refreshing cocktail, complemented perfectly with Bulldog Gin’s complex and unique taste.”

Mint Cherry Jubilee

3 Bing Cherries
2 Mint Leaves
2 oz. Bulldog Gin
4 oz. Club Soda

Shake well. Serve over ice in a highball glass.

Click for a review of Bulldog Gin.

While doing a bit of light reading on the Aviation cocktail, I came across a drink created by Gary Regan that he dubbed the Moonlight Cocktail. 

According to Gary, “I merely took the Aviation formula and tweaked it a little. I used Cointreau instead of maraschino, and lime instead of lemon juice. Why lime? I had no lemons.”  Finding his reasoning sound, I went about crafting myself a cocktail.

I started with Plymouth Gin, which is my go-to gin when making a new drink, and Rothman and Winter’s Creme de Violette, a violet flower liqueur that became available to the U.S. market in 2007.  The end result was a pretty tasty cocktail, with the vibrant orange flavor of Cointreau and the soft, violet flavor of Creme de Violette complementing each other well.  Both were kept in check by the half ounce of lime juice, which tempered the drink’s sweetness to a very manageable, pleasant level.  Gary may be onto something here.

The Moonlight Cocktail

1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce Creme de Violette
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

Shake with ice, and strain into a chilled Champagne flute.

Last night I wandered into one of my favorite local cocktail spots and ordered an Aviation, that tasty, well-balanced drink with gin, maraschino and fresh lemon juice.  A few minutes later, when a nearly purple cocktail was placed in front of me, I assumed there had been some mistake.  But when your bartender quotes Gary Regan as to the authenticity of your purple Aviation, it’s hard to argue.

It seems the original Aviation included the little used and hard to find liqueur, Creme de Violette.  Gary Regan notes that a 1916 recipe called for two parts gin, one part lemon juice and a couple dashes each of maraschino and Creme de Violette, which “makes for a very sour drink indeed.”  Instead, Regan proposes using three parts gin and one part each of the liqueurs and the lemon juice.

While I still love the Aviation sans Violette, or with a more moderate proportion of the liqueur, this new-to-me concoction is quite good.  Plus, it gives the drink a more intense purplish hue.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce Creme de Violette
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Mixology Monday is a monthly (well, almost monthly.  Heavy drinkers don’t  abide by the same calendar as mere mortals) online cocktail party that rounds up drinks pertaining to a particular theme chosen by a rotating host.  This month’s theme is “money drinks,” and our brave host is Kevin Langmack of Beers in the Shower.  From Kevin –

I feel a “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless of tastes or distastes about the spirits involved. Come up with a drink or a list based on spirits about drinks that would appeal to anyone,  Example: turning someone onto a Corpse Reviver #2 when they like lemon drops.

Depending on your spirit or drink of choice, one might have several money drinks, like a properly made Martini, Manhattan or Old Fashioned, to stick to the classics, that would convert even the most finicky drinker to well-crafted cocktails.  Personally, I feel a gnawing sense of frustration whenever someone bemoans a distaste for gin, and I’ve been known to order a friend a gin-based cocktail without her knowledge.  I stress “her” because it seems the women in my life have a natural aversion to gin.  Perhaps I need to surround myself with tougher women, but regardless, one such drink that seems to convert well is the French 75.

Composed of gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and Champagne, the French 75 is a light, refreshing cocktail that subdues the wary gin-drinker while still packing a sizeable boozy wallop.  This tart, tasty concoction has made even the most dubious skeptic rethink their distaste for gin, without alienating fans of the spirit.

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin
1 ounce lemon juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup
Champagne

Shake gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice, and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne, and garnish with a long, thin lemon spiral.

While there’s always a place for intricate cocktails boasting fun ingredients like Benedictine, Orgeat or Maraschino liqueur, sometimes you just want to simplify your life and your drinks.

Comprised of five simple ingredients found in any reasonably stocked home bar, the Bronx Cocktail is basically a perfect martini with orange juice added.  It’s a classic, pre-prohibition cocktail that’s a bit fruity—but not overly sweet—and its base spirit, gin, is a good carrier for both the sweet and dry vermouth.

This innocuous looking cocktail packs quite a punch, and the addition of OJ makes it a healthy alternative to not drinking cocktails.

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz dry vermouth
1 ounce orange juice
1 dash orange bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

For a visual on how to craft the Bronx Cocktail, here’s a quick instructional video from Dave Harrison of Lush Life Productions – The Bronx Cocktail in 12 Seconds.

The Singapore Sling was invented around 1910 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar in Singapore.  And like many classic drinks, the recipe was lost decades ago, resulting in bartenders scrambling to make an interpretation of the original ever since.

Because this recipe is often misrepresented by bars and in recipe books, most drinkers have never had the original Singapore Sling, regardless of what they ordered.  So to continue that trend, below is the cocktail currently served at the Raffles, per a recipe card published by Drinkboy. Based on memories of former bartenders and scattered notes thought to be left behind by Ngiam Tong Boon, here’s hoping this is a close approximation to the original.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounce gin
1/2 ounce Cherry Herring
1/4 ounce Cointreau
1/4 ounce Benedictine
4 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/3 ounce grenadine
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Garnish with a cherry and slice of pineapple.