First up was the Nolet’s Silver New Fashioned (pictured), which paired Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin with sour cherry marmalade and Angostura Bitters. It was tart and refreshing, and the marmalade married well with the floral gin.

Next came the Blueberry Gimlet, which uses blueberry lime preserves that pair well with the gin’s unique botanicals like rose, peach and raspberry.

Nolet’s Silver Blueberry Gimlet

1.25 oz Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin
1 oz blueberry lime preserves
.5 oz fresh lime juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh lavender leaves.

The third installment of Nolet’s Cupboard to Cocktail Program was the Silver Solstice. This complex little number paired Nolet’s Gin with Sweet Serenade banana jam, maple syrup, lemon juice and peppercorns. It’s meant to accompany warm summer evenings, but the comforting combo of banana jam with maple syrup seems a natural fit on colder nights as well.

Nolet’s Silver Solstice

1.25 oz Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin
.75 oz banana jam
.5 oz maple syrup
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
4 peppercorns

Muddle peppercorns in a mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients and shake with ice. Fine strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Thanks to Nolet’s for stocking our cabinet with a litany of fun ingredients. Using marmalades and jams as sweeteners is a creative way to add intricate flavors to cocktails, and small touches like peppercorns and lavender pedals can greatly enhance the aromatics of a drink.

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On the nose, it’s lush and perfumy, with the fruit hiding behind that big, brash dose of Turkish rose. Take a sip and you’ll find some of that fruit, including a nice hint of citrus mingling with the sweet peaches. It finishes clean and dry, but the flower petals linger on the tongue for close to 10 minutes. It’s certainly an aromatic, flavorful gin, but Nolet’s was perhaps a bit too heavy handed with the roses. That said, the unique botanicals do give the drinker plenty of opportunities for crafting cocktails.

Nolet’s “Cupboard to Cocktail” program encourages bartenders and home enthusiasts to consider ingredients found in their cabinets, which can be utilized all year long. First up, Nolet’s recommends sour cherry marmalade in this riff on the Old Fashioned.

Nolet’s Silver New Fashioned

2 oz Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin
2 tsp. sour cherry marmalade
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

That’s a pretty nice drink. The sour cherry marmalade itself is delicious (nice call, Nolet’s), and the marmalade plays well with the gin’s floral characteristics. We still contend that Nolet’s floral makeup is overly done, but it provides an interesting application in cocktails that can’t be replicated with traditional-style gins. And with that, we look forward to sampling Nolet’s next Cupboard to Cocktail recommendation.

Stats:
- 47.6% Alcohol by Volume
- $50

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- Greenhook Ginsmiths American Dry Gin

Half Moon Gin is named for the vessel upon which Henry Hudson explored the New York river that now bears his name. In producing Half Moon Gin, Tuthilltown goes beyond the typical gin makers’ approach of flavoring neutral spirit with a blend of botanicals. Instead, the distillery has created a new spirit base from 80% wheat and 20% apples.

From the company –

The distinctive subtleties of the apple blend in the base spirit create a smoother and rounder gin, more drinkable than the standard grain neutral spirit base used in other gins.

Tuthilltown’s Chief Distiller Joel Elder notes the break from tradition: “Gin has become a battle of the botanicals, with more and more complicated recipes making use of obscure flavors that get lost in the mix. We chose to keep our botanical bill small and focus attention on the base spirit which makes up most of the gin, using the botanicals to compliment and enhance the delicate flavors inherent in the base.”

Half Moon Gin is primarily aimed at bartenders, inviting them to explore new cocktails that highlight the gin’s base, rather than its botanicals. It will be regionally available this spring with a suggested retail price of $35. Following close behind will be a line of additional varieties, each crafted with its own unique base of grains and fruits.

Greenhook Ginsmiths hopes to offer consumers new, accessible gins with more taste and character than what’s currently on the market. To achieve this, the distillery utilizes a unique method that diminishes the atmospheric pressure in the still. As a result, Greenhook Ginsmiths is able to reduce the temperature of the distillation environment to about 132 degrees, which is nearly 40 degrees below the normal alcohol distillation temperature. This is supposed to result in a more  aromatic and pristine spirit that captures the raw integrity of the botanicals. Let’s see how they did.

Greenhook Ginsmiths American Dry Gin is fragrant and floral on the nose, with a nice mix of juniper and chamomile. On the palate it’s crisp and smooth, with lots of fresh juniper and spicy coriander, plus a distinctly sweet kick of elderflower. The flavors move toward citrus, including intense notes of orange – almost like orange blossom water – and subtle hints of ginger. It finishes clean and dry, with lingering notes of elderflower.

That’s an interesting gin. “American Dry Gin” is a good categorization, as it’s a far cry from London Dry style gins. Fortunately, its floral elements remain fresh and aromatic without that unpleasant perfume note that comes through on certain gins. It’s exceedingly easy to sip neat, and its unique flavor profile should prove interesting in cocktails, especially those utilizing fruit juices, aromatic bitters and aromatized wines.

The Greenhook Ginsmith’s flagship American Dry Gin is now available to New Yorkers at local liquor stores, while others can purchase the product online. Later this spring, look for the company’s Beach Plum Gin Liqueur, which is a variation of English Sloe Gin. And this fall, the busy distillery is expected to release a seasonal gin as well as an Old Tom Gin.

Stats:
- 47% Alcohol by Volume
- $32

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- Caorunn Gin Review

In producing Caurunn Gin, neutral grain spirit is vaporized in a 1920s-era copper berry chamber. The botanicals are infused into the spirit, lending their unique flavors and aromatics to the gin. From there, Caorunn is cut with pure Scottish Highland water sourced from the surrounding springs.

All that results in a crisp, dry gin that’s fresh and floral, with lots of citrus and spice on the nose. Take a sip to find flavors of juniper and sweet heather, plus a background of coriander and a fruity component that we’ll assume is rowan berry. It remains very easy to hold on the palate, with a medium-bodied mouthfeel that finishes clean and dry.

Not bad for a whisky-making country. Caorunn’s interesting blend of botanicals lend some fun nuance to the gin, but it’s actually quite traditional in flavor and aroma. If you like London Dry style gins, you’ll probably like Caorunn, though it does play a bit softer than its English cousins.

Caorunn is smooth enough to be sipped straight, but with all gins, it will likely find more use in cocktails. The brand recommends pairing Caorunn with a slice of red apple. We’d second that recommendation, as we just mixed a simple gin and tonic, complete with red apple, to good results.

For now, Caorunn’s availability is limited to the UK and a few select U.S. markets. If you can’t find it near you, consider buying online.

Stats:
- 41.8% Alcohol by Volume
- $35

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The Leap Year cocktail was created by Harry Craddock, famed bartender at the Savoy Hotel in London and author of the seminal drinks tome, the Savoy Cocktail Book. Craddock first crafted the drink in 1928, and though it hasn’t caught on as a mainstream cocktail, the eponymous drink is unearthed every four years in bars and boozy homes across the world.

Combining gin with Grand Marnier, sweet vermouth and lemon juice, the cocktail is strong, but easy-drinking, with a richness provided by the orange liqueur and vermouth. The recipe –

Leap Year Cocktail

2 oz gin
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/4 oz lemon juice

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

Here an orange liqueur substitute like triple sec just won’t do. This drink seems to require the rich, brandy-based Grand Marnier to play nicely with the sweet vermouth and scant 1/4 ounce of lemon juice. Gin wise, we like something versatile, like Plymouth, but feel free to experiment. And varying your sweet vermouth can really add complexity to the cocktail. Dolin Sweet Vermouth keeps things fairly standard, but tasty, while the richer Carpano Antica ads an almost caramel-chocolate candy note to the drink.

Whichever route you go, mix one up today. Especially if you’re angling for a marriage proposal, as according to Craddock, the Leap Year cocktail is said to have been “responsible for more marriage proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed.”

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- The Jasmine Cocktail

Photo: Boulder Locavore

The intense program requires an absolute understanding of the gin category,. But beyond that, competitors must be excellent hosts, technically skilled bartenders, creative mixologists and engaging personalities.

Any bartender, anywhere, can enter the Gin Connoisseur Program. It doesn’t matter which gin your bar pours or whether G’Vine Gin is available in your country. Every gin-loving bartender has an equal chance of making it to the World Finals in Cognac, France in June 2012.

Besides that trip to Cognac, additional prizes include:

- An intercontinental bar tour to a couple of the spirits industry’s biggest events: Tales of the Cocktail and Bar Convent Berlin
- A year’s supply of G’Vine Gin for your bar
- Platinum vine flower pin
- $3,000 and recognition as the finest gin bartender on the planet

More details –

All entrants must complete an online exam at www.legcp.fr on or before May 1, 2012.

Bartenders who can attend a preliminary contest hosted in the UK, Scotland, France, Spain, Canada & the USA throughout the spring can qualify for the World Finals in Cognac in June. The preliminaries will begin with a seminar – How the Gin Business Works (e.g. sales figures, calculating margins, etc.) – and the challenges include creative mixology and blind nosing and tasting.

Bartenders who can’t attend a preliminary contest can enter as wild cards by completing the same online exams but making an Xtranormal cartoon video using the theme “French Classics.” (An example.)

World Finalists will be announced May 15, 2012.

Best of luck to all competitors, and for more info or to sign up, visit http://www.legcp.fr/.

Also, cocktails. Guests enjoyed Hendrick’s cocktails created by Brand Ambassador Jim Ryan. Hendrick’s Gin is comprised of 11 botanicals, including the very distinct infusions of cucumber and rose petals, which gives it great application in cocktails. Like the fine libations detailed below.

Alaskan Sour

1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
¾ oz Yellow Chartreuse
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Lemon Juice
¼ oz Egg White
2 dashes Regan’s Orange

Shake all ingredients without ice. Add ice and shake again. Double strain into a cocktail glass and twist a lemon peel over the top.

~

High Tea for One

2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Caraway simple syrup*
½ oz Clementine Juice
1 barspoon marmalade
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

*to make: place 16 oz of caraway seeds into the pot as you make a simple syrup with 1 part water to 1 part sugar and let sit for 2 hours. Strain and chill. Serve in teacup.

~

Will ‘o the Wisp

2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz Lambic Peche Beer/Tarragon simple syrup*
¼ oz Green Chartreuse
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
Soda Water
Tarragon sprig

Combine first 3 ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice and shake well. Strain into an iced collins glass and top with soda. Garnish with a tarragon sprig.

*To make: 1 part white sugar, 2 parts lambic peche beer and tarragon.  Heat until the sugar dissolves and tarragon steeps into the syrup. Cool and keep cold.

~

Snow Miser’s Cooler

1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
½ oz St. Germain
¾ oz Lime Juice
¼ oz Simple Syrup
1 ½ oz Soda Water
1 dash Lavender/Spice Bitter
Cucumber Spear

Shake all ingredients excluding soda water and cucumber spear. Strain into an iced collins glass and top with soda. Garnish with cucumber spear.

Upon request for something a bit different, he made me a Perfect Ten, which is simply Tanqueray Ten shaken with a lemon peel, and then strained into a cocktail glass. When asked why he shook the gin instead of stirring it, he mentioned that stirring wasn’t necessary when it’s just gin. But that if he were making a martini with vermouth, he’d stir it.

Winchester was in town in support of Tanqueray’s recently-launched “Tonight We Tanqueray” campaign, which suggests Tanqueray Gin as one’s first drink when preparing for the night. Sounds okay to me.

Some highlights -

Winchester said he got the brand ambassador gig because he’s tall and thin like the Tanqueray Ten bottle. But that down the road, this job may make him look more like the original Tanqueray’s short, squat bottle.

Winchester mentioned that he loves the gin category but is wary of new companies creating “gin” that eschews proper distillation techniques and bucks traditional flavor profiles – essentially creating grain spirits with flavors like roses and cardamom.

Bartenders at the event generally liked Tanqueray’s big, bold, juniper-forward character and agreed that softer gins get lost in a Negroni.

Spring 44 Gin is crystal clear, and on the nose it has clean aromas of juniper, lime, sage, wheat and spice. The entrance is cool and creamy on the palate, with mint, spice, flowers and a mild dose of juniper. It finishes long with more spice and notes of minerals, herbs and citrus peels. Lots of flavor in this one.

Though Spring44 Gin packs a fair amount of juniper, it’s not your typical London Dry style of gin. The other botanicals – including flowery lavender, jasmine and citrus – play a very prominent role, making it closer to a New Western style gin, like Aviation, Roxor Gin or the also-from-Colorado Leopold’s Gin.

Gin’s a fairly divisive category, with many drinkers claiming to hate its strong “pine cone” flavors. Spring44 might woo some holdouts to the gin category with its easy-drinking flavor profile that’s devoid of harsh juniper notes. That said, Spring44 isn’t the best choice for traditional gin cocktails, but it works great in fruit-forward drinks. Muddle some berries, throw in a few sprigs of mint or sage, and Spring44 makes a lovely cocktail.

Stats:
- 40% Alcohol by Volume
- $30

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