Curiosity Killed the Tom Cat...

This story, like so many, begins with a man walking into a bar, the man engages the bartender and over the course of the conversation the subject of Jamaican Gin arrises, a gin made by Wray & Nephew exclusively for the Jamaican market, of course it isn't long till word of this gin finds it's way to a certain gin enthusiast and a search begins...

A few calls later it would seem a family member is holidaying in Jamaica, two weeks later a bottle of this cheeky looking Jamaican gin arrives...

The bottle bears an uncanny resemblance to certain own brand supermarket spirits, this impoverished attire made me weary of the gin from the start but we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover now, should we... The labelling is rather simple standing out yet does not reveal much about the liquid inside, simply 40% and 750ml, oooh an extra double, one must remain calm and not leap for joy as of yet.

Considering it's Caribbean background I am going to make the brash assumption that this gin is distilled from molasses, i'm also curious as to weather it meets the EU criteria of being distilled to a minimal 96%, as this is made exclusively for the Jamaican market it is doubtful much consideration is given to the laws governing gin production on the other side of the world.

So enough of the mystery surrounding the gin, time to crack it open... dear lord! A whif from the bottle was not appealing in the slightest, slightly reminiscent of every studious evening spent imbibing cheap vodka, but in the interest of fairness let's decant the gin to a tasting glass to allow it to breathe and release it's finer aromas.

Once I acclimatised to the potency of the alcohol I began to pick up slight notes of citrus, an ever so soft hint of juniper and a surprising hint of cookie dough ice cream, although it wouldn't be to much of a stretch to imagine vanilla being used in a Caribbean gin.

And now time for the taste test... gulp!    

Despite it's potent aroma the taste is remarkably bland, giving away little, perhaps slight peppery notes but little more. The mouth feel is extremely oily which initially masks the alcohol burn, a burn which continues to evolve long after the liquid is gone.

So Jamaican gin... there seems to be more than one reason why rum is so popular in the country and this token gin would do little to sway anyones preference, so on the gin shelf you go Wray & Nephew Old Tom, at the bottom, towards the back, categorised under morbid curiosity.

I hope you never attempt to enjoy,

Umpleby

Sangaree for Every Season

Most people aware of Gins place as our national spirit, how it has become intertwined in the history and tradition of merry old England, and what a damn fine thing tradition is. Like the consumption of Port wine, another great English drinking tradition, a tradition which grew out of one of our many fisticuffs with the French, terrible times when our supply of wine was rudely interrupted, times when our dear Portuguese allies were so willing to step in and fill this void.

So any way, point is tradition is lovely, what is ever more endearing though is when two traditions meet, creating something new, something unusual, and dare I say it when speaking of Port, but something cheeky... Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, the Sangaree

Sangaree is a corruption of the Spanish Sangria, the very same fruity beverage many of us have imbibed on the beach on the Costa del Sol or in a cheap latin themed restaurant, this drink however wasn't always made with cheap red wine, budget brandy and artificial orange juice, it was originally a simple mix of fortified wine such as sherry, port or madeira, diluted with a brisk shake, slightly sweetened and dusted with nutmeg. Jerry Thomas makes mention of several styles of Sangaree in The Bon Vivant's Companion, one with Brandy, the predecessor to what we drink today and a rather interesting one with gin.

The recipe calls to make the Gin Sangaree in the same way as a Gin Toddy with a float of Port Wine and a dust of nutmeg, a recipe which would look a little something like this;

Gin Sangaree

Gin - 50ml

Still Water - 25ml

Simple Sugar Syrup - 5ml

Port Wine - 15ml (float)

An interesting origin of the modern Sangria, not quite as fruity, shorter and considerably more fortified. I prefer a slightly different method, swizzling the gin and syrup over crushed ice to achieve the desired dilution whilst adding sufficient chill to the'. The beauty of this drink is it works with a wide variety of gin's although those on the heavy juniper side of things fair rather well.

As much as the simplicity of this drink works to it's advantage there are some additions which can add some rather interesting twists to this drink, tailoring it to your mood, your guest or even the weather...

Around Christmas I began experimenting with mulled wine inspired port, cooking up a mulled port concentrate by adding sugar and various herbs and spices, most notably cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaves and citrus peel before lengthening this concentrate with more of the Port used to create it. When I discovered the Sangaree I was immediately tempted to put my mulled port to use.

Mulled Sangaree

Martin Millers Gin - 50ml

Simple Sugar Syrup - 5ml

Mulled Port Wine - 15ml (float)

Swizzle the gin and syrup in a wine glass with crushed ice, float the mulled port and garnish with a dusting of freshly grated Nutmeg.

An interesting twist on the Gin Sangaree with plenty of winter warming spice complementing the black pepper and orange notes of Martin Millers, as with the Gin Sangaree there is no need for citrus to balance this drink, the dilution works wonders. A lovely little winter beverage which also works particularly well served warm, combine the above ingredients with 25ml of water, warm in a saucepan but try not to heat over 78 degrees, we wouldn't want to burn off the alcohol, serve in a small glass tea cup with that aromatic dusting of nutmeg. 

So a winter warmer to see you through the rest of the cold months but summers just round the corner (hell who am I kidding this is England) but just in case, heres a twist on the Sangaree especially for those sunny days;

Summer Sangaree

Whitley Neill Gin - 50ml

White Port - 20ml

Velvet Falernum - 5ml

Swizzle all ingredients together with crushed ice in a wine glass, cap with crushed ice and perfume with a grapefruit zest. 

Velvet Falernum is an alcoholic syrup made from rum, lime and a variety of spices, most notably cloves and star anise, it is often used in Tiki style drinks but adds an interesting tropical spice to many libations. This style of Sangaree is rather different to the two above but still maintains the basic elements of the original drink. The soft orange notes of Physalis from the Whitley Neill work so well with the white fruit notes of the Port and the citrus and spice of the Velvet Falernum, the grapefruit zest adds a lovely aroma slightly better suited to a summer beverage than nutmeg.

Ingredient Notes

Mulled Port
Inspired by the English Christmas tradition of mulled wine whereby red wine is infused with various botanicals and served warm as a tasty winter treat.
To make mulled port start by concentrating the flavours and spice in a small  portion of the wine, this allows you to boil up a small portion of the wine to really infuse the flavours, although this sacrifices the alcohol content you are only using up a small volume of Port so not all is lost. For my mulled port I took 200ml of Ruby Port, heated it up in a saucepan with 100 grams of granulated sugar and the following botanicals;
- Orange Peel
- Lemon Peel
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Black Pepper
- Dried Bay Leaves
- Juniper Berries       
Bring the port mix to the boil then allow to simmer for about 4 minutes before straining out the botanicals. After you have your concentrate lengthen it with the remaining port until your happy with the flavour.


I hope you enjoy,

Umpleby

The Country Bumpkin

Summer is upon us and the gin world is full of lovely fresh summer cocktails, although the majority of these are refined libations, drink with class and sophistication. My summers are not always suitable for such refined drinks, I often spend time outdoors with barbecue food and it's a tad difficult to mix up a Basil-Gin Smash or a White Lady in such surroundings. Rum on the other hand has a variety of rustic beverages, the Caipirinha arguably being the the simplest and easy to concoct with limited means.


My discovery of a Gin Caipirinha came a few months back when Mark Scott, the bartender at one of my regular haunts could not furnish me with Brazil's finest so we opted to substitute it for gin instead. The result was a rather Gimlet-esk beverage, ice cold with a beautiful zesty freshness, by opting for gin as opposed to Cachaca the beverage is somewhat cleaner, we originally used Plymouth Gin which shone through well giving the drink an additional botanical complexity.


The simplicity and rustic charm of the Caipirinha is it's beauty, originally it was made as a peasants drink, drunk in the slums of Brazil as a way of taming the raw, fire water that is Brazils sugar cane rum, Cachaca. I have always been a firm believer that premium, smooth Cachaca has no place in the Caipirinha, it was this line of thinking which led me to conclude the gin of choice for the Country Bumpkin, but first a note on the name.


Caipirinha translates a peasants drink and as I was giving Brazils national drink a British twist it felt only right to furnish it with it's own name, however the direct translation was missing a little charm. A Country Bumpkin is defined as 'someone usually from the midwest, whom lives in a small town but does not live on a farm and do all that labor. usually on the poorer side' it could not better sum up the areas in which I spend most of my sunny down time.


So back to the issue of what gin to used. As nice as Plymouth and a few Martin Miller's Country Bumpkins have been it did not really fit with my thesis of the quality of Cachaca to use in a Caipirinha. It's turns out that super premium gin is an unnecessary addition to such a simple drink and after all there is only one gin widely available in the taverns of every small village, Gordon's.

The Country Bumpkin Photographed by Sofia Miranda

The Country Bumpkin
Gordons Gin 50ml
Lime Wedges 4/8th's
White Sugar 2 Bar Spoons


Now before we discuss the recipe for the Country Bumpkin, white sugar is being used because gin doesn't have the rustic sugar cane notes of Cachaca which may benefit from brown sugar, i'm using granulated to really exfoliate the zest of the lime and to help grind the last drop of juice out.


So pop the lime wedges in to a suitable, short receptacle, any old thing will do, lets not be picky with this, perhaps... a jam jar? Sprinkle with your sugar and muddle (crush), spoon on crushed ice, pour on a healthy dram of England's Oldest, stir, top with crushed ice and serve with straws.


Being a punchy gin Gordon's big juniper flavour shines through nicely with a great sweet sour balance in a slightly raw yet refreshing drink.


Hope You Enjoy,


Umpleby  





   

The French Martini

When most people speak of a French Martini they conjure up thoughts of a fruity based vodka drink, a simple mix of vodka, Chambord and pineapple juice, the signature serve of the French, berry liqueur, until recently this was certainly my perception of the drink.

Whilst trawling through vintage liquor advertisements to decor my house, I stumbled across a Seagrams Gin advertisement from the 1970's promoting the Seagrams French Martini, a martini twist that calls for a few drops of cognac to be added to your usual martini. At first I was a little taken back by advertisment, not because of the gentleman's amazing, bushy, facial hair, but rather unusual mix of gin and cognac. After a little considering though, this isn't the first drink to use gin and and aged spirit in a martini twist, i'm thinking the smokey martini, and the fact that Seagrams is a gin which is already acquainted with oak I threw caution to the wind and mixed one of these bad boys up...    

A 1970's advertisement for a Seagrams Gin, French Martini

As suggested I mixed up my regular martini, slightly moist with Noilley Prat vermouth, i'm usually partial to a spot of bitters, rather than the classic addition of orange bitters I felt the need for a spot of aromatics, my French Martini looked a little something like this; 

The French Martini

Seagrams Extra Dry Gin - 50ml

Noilley Prat - 15ml

Martell VSOP Cognac - 1.25ml

Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters - 1 dash

Stir all ingredients over ice, strain in to a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The French Martini, Photographed by Sofia Miranda. (No snails were harmed in the taking of this picture)

Having used Seagrams along side bitters and cognac the martini wasn't it's usual crystal clear self, it had a light lemon colour similar to that of a young chardonnay, the aroma was rather interesting with the usual welcome juniper hit supported by light vanilla and a vibrant zest of lemon courtesy of the garnish. The first sip was lovely and smooth with a slight alcoholic bite, the juniper was very dominant with the lemon still hanging around, the subtle vanilla notes from Seagrams made an appearance alongside an unusual oak and winter spice from the cognac and the bitters.

I was very impressed with this drink and will look forward to a bit of experimentation with the proportion and ingredients in my martini, perhaps a perfect martini (equal measures of sweet and dry vermouth) would stand up nicely to a few drops of cognac, I would limit the experimentation of what gin to use to those aged expressions, Seagrams Barrel Proof would be interesting as would Citadelle Reserve, hmmm....

Hope You Enjoy,


Umpleby  

Vesper's are Forever

The Vesper Martini is one of the cocktail worlds most famous libations, the recipe first appeared in Ian Flemmings 1953 book Casino Royal and was given a new lease of life in the 2006 movie of the same name.


In Casino Royal (2006), Bonds whilst indulging in one of his glorious vices, this time gambling, switches his now famed Vodka Martini for a Vesper, the recipe for which he recites; 'Three measures of Gordon's; one of vodka; half a measure of Kina Lillet Shaken over ice' with a thin slice of lemon peel. 


True to his character Bond is 'Keeping the British end up' with his choice of gin although there has been a fair few very British brands released since the original 1953 recipe, i'm thinking for a reasonable juniper hit but a little more complexity Plymouth Gin, a softer style of gin is a delicious choice. Ian Flemming recommends a nice Polish vodka for the Vesper, one can assume either Rye or Potato which I find a 'trifle over powering', my preference is for something a little more subtle and given the British nature of the drink Tanqueray Sterling is a fine choice. 
Kina Lillet is a bitter aperitif which is no longer available and has been replaced by Lillet Blanc, I usually opt for a carefully controlled tear drop of Angostura Bitters in an attempt to recreate the classic recipe.


As for this 'Shaken, not Stirred' business, my preference for a stirred martini was made clear in my post about the Gin Martini although there is a rather interesting study in favour of the shaken martini I feel compelled to share with you. The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada suggests a shaken martini is more effective in deactivating hydrogen peroxide than the stirred variety, thereby helping prevent diseases associated with ageing. Any one interested in checking this study out please click here.


It would seem I am beginning to digress so without further interruption;


The Vesper Martini

Plymouth Gin 45ml
Tanqueray Sterling Vodka 15ml
Lillet Blanc 10ml
Angostura Bitters 1 tear drop


Stir or shake over ice (dependant on age and health) strain in to a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of lemon peel.

The Vesper is a rather interesting twist in the classic gin martini, at first I was rather sceptical of vodka's use when mixed with gin, assuming it would simply dilute and weaken the flavour, turns out it plays it's part rather well. The vodka smoothes out the gin just enough to take the edge off, the lillet being slightly sweeter than the usual dry vermouth works wonderfully with the toned down gin with the hint of bitterness balancing out the sweetness.


A while back I treated myself to a bottle of Chase Marmalade Vodka,a lovely if not slightly sweet vodka flavoured with Seville Orange Marmalade and Seville Orange Peel. As nice as this is I was at a bit of a loss of how to mix it when it occurred to me that the sweet orange notes of the vodka would combine perfectly those of Whitley Neill and The Breakfast Vesper an amalganation of the Breakfast Martini, a delightful libation containing gin, cointreau, lemon juice and marmalade and the Vesper Martini was born.


The Breakfast Vesper

Whitley Neill - 45ml

Chase Marmalade Vodka - 15ml

Campari - 5ml

Stir all ingredients in a large mixing vessel, ensuring the drink is ice cold, strain in to a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of pink grapefruit zest.

The Breakfast Vesper, Photographed by Sofia Miranda

As expected the Whitley Neill is a perfect pairing with the Marmalade Vodka, however with a reasonable sweetness already present I wanted to avoid using Lillet. Rather than going back down the vermouth route I popped in a little Campari for something to to balance the sweetness, it turns out Campari's bitterness was just the ticket. The Whitley Neill shines through followed by very subtle orange marmalade flavour with little sweetness, the campari is only just detectable plays its part of balancing the sweetness well. A rather cheeky twist on the Vesper but probably a little too hard core for breakfast... only just.

So thinking this post was over with I stumbled over a rather rare vodka, Chase Smoked, the first flavour released by the Herefordshire Distillery, a flavour I had the pleasure of tasting when I visited the distillery a year or so back. When I first tasted the vodka I immediately had the urge for a smoky martini, with gin of course. Usually made with scotch in addition to gin and vermouth I was looking forward to using this cleaner smoked spirit... wait a second, gin, vodka... oh here comes another Vesper Twist...


The Smoked Vesper

William Chase Gin 45ml

Chase Smoked Vodka 15ml

Noilly Prat Vermouth 15ml

Stir all ingredients over ice and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lime twist.

The Smoked Vesper, Photographed by yours truly.

As much as this drink makes me look like a whore to Chase Distilleries, the William Chase gin and smoked vodka are a sensational pairing, something about smokey apples really seems to work, I went for a Noilly Prat as the spicy botanical mix works well with the complexity of William Chase Gin.The aroma of this drink is sensational, fresh lime lest with a hint of smoke, a type of smoke I would describe as cleaner than that of a scotch, some really floral elderflower notes shine through as well as some crisp green apple.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

We Live in an Unusual World...

Hendrick's Gin, photographed & Edited by Sofia Miranda

Hendrick's Gin is a cheeky little bottling, a New Western Dry style of gin distilled at William Grant's spirit production plant in Scotland.

Hendrick's is a small batch gin, well, small, small batch (the usual still size for small scale being 1,000 litres and the still used to produce Hendrick's being 450 litres). Hendrick's pride themselves on being a rather unusual product, and why not, the gin is bottled in a unique apothecary style bottle, distilled in Scotland and uses random botanicals such as chamomile flowers, meadowsweet as well as the distilled oils of rose petals and cucumber. To me the above aren't what makes Hendrick's unusual, the botanicals and the bottle certainly make it unique, but there are a fair amount of gin's being distilled in Scotland now day's. What truly strikes me as unusual is the use of two different methods of distillation and blending the two together to create the final product.

Blending spirits is a rather common practice in the world alcohol, brandies, whiskies and rums are commonly subject to blending, to achieve consistency, complexity or simply to cut costs by blending well aged products with some with not so much wood contact. As for gin, some gin producers prefer to distill each individual botanical separately and blend them together to give them more control over each flavour. What Hendrick's does different is to distill it's selected botanicals in two types of still, a style of pot still known as a Bennet still, and a carter head still. When using the Bennet still the botanicals are steeped in the neutral spirit before distillation, this method stews the botanicals and the final distillate has a more intense, full on deep flavour. When using the carter head still the botanicals are blaced above the neutral spirit and are infused as the vapour passes through them, this style of distillation produces a rather delicate and subtle flavour. The two distillates are then blended together, two get the best from both styles of distillation, before the distilled essence of cucumber and rose are added to the mix.

The resulting gin is a rather pleasant change from the norm, arguably one of the pioneering gins of the New Western Dry style. Hendrick's has a wonderfully fresh, floral aroma notes of rose petals, violets and a slight hint of lavender all spring to mind, the cucumber is less dominant than one would be led to believe although it does impart an almost melon like freshness, lovely subtle pine notes from the juniper but as one would expect from a New Western Dry these do not take centre stage.

On the palate its much of the same story, very floral with the rose being the more dominant than it was on the nose, juniper makes a welcomed appearance, also more dominant on the palate,  this is followed by a lovely citrus zing and a once again subtle fresh cucumber notes.

Hendrick's is a very unique, approachable gin, between this and its rather odd advertising campaign I believe it has done great things taking consumers out of their comfort zones and introducing them to a new style of gin.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

Does it Really Get Better With Age?

Citadelle Reserve Gin, Photographed & Edited by Sofia Miranda

After sampling Seagrams Extra Dry Gin I decided to dig out my bottle of Citadelle Reserve, another aged gin from a more premium producer. Having been surprised by the quality of Seagrams and with a slightly hazy memory of Citadelle I was hoping for big things...

Citadelle Reserve is the combination of the original Citadelle Gin a vibrant French gin containing a staggering 19 botanicals, with a few months ageing in what one can only assume given their cellar master would be ex Cognac casks. The bottling I am sampling is from the 72nd bottle from cask 9 of 21 from 2008.

Usually I skip the aesthetics of gin during tastings, Clear? Yes! Good is the usual format of such things, obviously with an aged gin it is necessary to take a gander. The Citadelle Reserve has a lovely light golden colour, slightly reminiscent of a crisp, fresh white wine.

At first on the nose I was met with a surprising amount of juniper, something the unaged expression of Citadelle isn't known for, this juniper hit was quickly followed by a rather unusual yet welcome vanilla nose with some spicy peppery notes, a classic aroma courtesy of the coriander. After a breif break and a breath of fresh air I nosed the gin a second time, to my amazement the aroma had transformed and I was greeted with a fresh lemon citrus hit, I also got the aroma of what I can only describe as hops, a little bit of an unusual one for gin but very interesting nonetheless, highly complex on the nose now on the the main event, the palate!

The complexity of this gin continued on the palate, most notably the oaky sweetness, i'm thinking vanilla and a hint of caramel, this was followed by a light citrus tingle with the juniper taking a step back from the dominant aroma I first encountered, other notes include spicy coriander and bitter orange as well as a wide variety of other flavours not identifiable but minglng to form an incredibly complex and interesting bottling.

All in all a thoroughly pleasant experience, aged gin however unusual it may seem is begining to make a name for itself if not only among a small number of those in the know, whether it will ever be the next big thing is yet to be seen, Seagrams is a super large brand but whether this is more to do with advertising and mass production rather than the quality and interest in it's unusual production methods is a debatable. Either way, Citadelle Reserve is an exceptional and very unusual gin, one I would encourage ever gin enthusiast to indulge in. I look forward to sampling the next aged gin to hit the market, rumour has it this will be launched at Gin Fete 2011!

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

I've Got Love For Gin if it Was Mixed in the 80's....

I sometimes feel mixology is taken a little too seriously, bartenders often forget to appreciate certain ingredients or drinks for the part they have played in broadening peoples horizons to the world of mixed drinks. I also feel this snobbery is more prominent with gin than any other spirit, Rum has the Tiki craze, a respectable alternative to the classic cocktail culture, vodka has the not so respectable disco era where it was abused by a wide array of fruity liquors or syrups to cover up any hint of alcohol where as gin with it's big bold flavours and a firm set of widely accepted serves, the gin and tonic and the martini has survived bastardisation relatively unscathed, well with the exception of the odd hiccup that is...

One ever so disco cocktail is the Blue Lagoon, commonly mixed up in 80's themed bars with vodka, blue curacao, and lemonade. The drink actually hails from one of the most inflencial bars for classic drinks, Harry's New York Bar in Paris. The original recipe was a simple mix of gin, blue curacao and fresh lemon, simply a gin sour with slight notes of orange and a cheeky colour. The original is delicious but a little far removed from the one served up throughout the era of cheese, perhaps an amalgamation of the two is in order for a drink worthy of sipping when donning bright leg warmers and singing along to to the Summer of 69...

The Blue Lagoon
Martin Millers Gin 75ml
Blue Curacao 20ml
Apricot Brandy 15ml
Lemon Juice 25ml
Soda Water Top

Shake all ingredients except soda, strain in to an curvaceous and slightly tacky glass, top with soda and garnish with a mint bush and the largest orange wheel you can craft.

The Blue Lagoon, Photographed by Sofia Miranda

Essentially a dry gin collins with a fruity hint of orange and apricot brandy, perfect for summer sipping. The addition of Apricot Brandy combines with the blue curacao to provide a little sweetness, balancing the drink without overpowering any other flavours. For my choice of gin, I found a hefty slug of Martin Millers to be a perfect match to the light citrus notes, adding that little extra something with the floral violet and spicy black pepper notes, making it a winning choice in the Blue Lagoon, and as for the orange wheel, a nod to Mr Humphery who I believe is fond of such garnishes...

So bright blue and fizzy out of the way the search continues for more disco for gin to boogie on down with, a surprisingly difficult task, leaving me in need of a a little improvisation...


Pre bartender snobbery the June Bug was a firm favourite of mine, a tropical mix of coconut rum, melon and banana liqueurs with pineapple juice, sweet, fruity and easy to drink. My sentimental feelings for this drink inclined me to craft a gin twist, but what gin could possibly replace a coconut rum in such an exotic beverage?

Actually, one does spiring to mind...

The Hoxton June Bug
Hoxton Gin 50ml
Midori 15ml
Banana Liquer 15ml
Lime Squeeze x 2
Freshly extracted pineapple juice 100ml

Shake all ingredients and strain in to a tall glass over ice, an over the top, half moon pineapple garnish is definitely essential.

The Hoxton June Bug, photographed by Sofia Miranda 

What can I say, a little more complex and less artificial than the June Bug's of old, the coconut notes are noticeable yet far fresher than any coconut rum, the grapefruit notes of Hoxton cuts through the tropical fruity notes adding a degree of freshness with the juniper raising it's head at the finish. Very reminiscent of the tropical flavours of my uneducated drinking day's, an enjoyable blast from the past!

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

Berry-tastic Gin

Berry's are an essential and common botanical in gin, juniper berries must always be present, cubeb berries sometimes join them to add a peppery spice, berries which are rarely used in gin are those we consume on a regular basis, blackberries and blueberries are infant a rather unusual botanical to find in gin.

The gin I am talking about is Brockmans Gin, one of those new western dry styles we hear so much about these days. and in true form of this new style of gin Brockmans far removed from the classic juniper heavy styles often associated with the category.

The label claims the liquid inside carries with it subtle aromas of berry, personally the first smell was like being kicked in the face by Chuck Norris with a bramble bush attached to his foot, there is an ever so slight whiff of juniper, think juniper under the influence of horse tranquillisers and you would be on the right track.    

On the palate Brockmans is pretty smooth, as promised, there is a degree of sweetness with the berry notes once again proving dominant, I find an almost peppery spice which I often associate with coriander, juniper makes the occasional brief appearance but certainly does not hang around for too long.

The chaps at Brockmans claim this is a new gin experience, a claim which is certainly substantiated by the unique flavour profile, although it does raise  the question once again niggles at the back of my mind, is juniper the dominant flavour, the necessary requirement for a gin to be a gin?

A rather enjoyable gin, smooth and sweet, it definitely stands out from the crowd, I also find it refreshing for a gin to be intended to be drunk straight rather than made to mix. This would be a perfect gin for those uninitiated in the ways of juniper heavy spirits.

We hope you enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

Sipping on Gin and Juice (Laid Back)

Seagram's Extra Dry Gin Photographed by Sofia Miranda

Seagrams is a staple gin stateside, the equivalent of Gordon's here in Blighty, I came across a bottle recently and thought i'd give it a go, admittedly at £15 I wasn't expecting much but wanted to see first hand what all the hullabaloo was about.

The first thing that drew my attention to Seagrams Extra Dry was the colour, the majority of gin's are clear where as Seagrams has a light hay coloured hue to it, could it be this mass produced gin is barrel aged?

It turns out Seagrams Extra Dry is in fact rested in American white oak barrels for a few weeks after distillation to mellow the spirit. A lovely touch and one which imparts slight vanilla notes in to the gin without any of the tannins often imparted from longer periods of ageing in oak. Obviously the short time the spirit spends in oak isn't the only flavour contributing to the gin, a classic botanical mix including juniper, coriander, angelica root and orange peel are steeped in the neutral grain spirit prior to distillation.

On the nose I was immediently met with creamy vanilla cut with a spicy peppery, orange note and our oh so ever welcome friend juniper mingling about the place. On the palate the vanilla is subtle but still present, the spice of the coriander is rather dominant and combines perfectly with the pine notes of the juniper the slight citrus, fruitiness of the orange gives the gin a nice fresh lift.

I found Seagrams Extra Dry a rather smooth and extremely interesting gin, no unusual botanicals have been used but the combination of classic botanicals and oak maturation creates a rather unique flavour profile. I personally would not describe this as extra dry but perhaps the vanilla notes from the oak simply give an impression of sweetness.

Seagrams also produce a barrel proof gin, something which I am rather looking forward to imbibing, watch this space...

In addition to Seagrams cracking gin's they seem to produce a pre mixed range of drinks, Seagrams Gin & Juice, flavours include Red Fury and Lemon-Berry Blaze. At this point I must say I am a little adverse to pre bottled drinks, supermarkets in the UK are flooded with pre mixed brandy Alexanders, Cosmopolitans and the sort, i just feel it takes the skill out of preparing exquisite drinks not to mention moving away from fresh ingredients to a whole load of E number.

It must be the snob in me but I feel it's a shame to see a producer who distills such an exceptional product lower the tone by entering the pre mixed cocktail market, especially when the inspiration for name has come from an early 90's rap song. I do find this marketing ploy rather clever considering Cognac producers have paid millions to get their brand mentioned in rap songs, but not gin, gin producers are smart enough to see an opportunity and run with it, after all why pay millions for the cool kids to rap about your products if steal the name of their song. At the end of the day I guess bills must be paid and if high volume, mixes for the masses allow Seagrams the finance and backing to create their stunning Extra Dry Gin and the barrel strength expressions I should probably wind my neck in a little. Therefore in the interest of fairness may I propose a suggested serve for Seagrams Gin & Juice;

Gin & Juice

Any flavour of Seagrams Gin & Juice

Brown Paper Bag x 1

Low Rider with hydraulic suspension 

Warning: it may be frowned upon if you roll down the street smoking endo and sipping on one of these, but it will certainly make you ghetto fabulous.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown  

A Touch of Bombay Spice

Bombay Dry and Sapphire Photographed by Sofia Miranda

Bombay Sapphire is a globally recognised spirit, distinctive packaging, a unique style of distillation, and great marketing have all made sure of this. As with every popular brand it has not gone without criticism, there are those who deny it's place in the gin world claiming it's light flavour profile make it more akin to a vodka than what was traditionally known as a gin. Although this could be viewed as a negative those who make this clim often fail to consider the rest of the Bombay range, yes there are more than one, two in fact, Bombay Dry is relatively unheard of  in Blighty often overshadowed by the more modern and glitzy Bombay Sapphire. Bombay Dry is a more traditional style of gin, big, bold and heavy in juniper, a gin which would satisfy the juniper addiction of purists. Bombay Sapphire on the other hand has a lighter flavour profile which appeals to a wider audience, those new to the spirit or those who usually drink vodka may well consume Sapphire as a stepping stone in to the category, gin for the masses, how can this be a bad thing?

Both Bombay Dry and Sapphire employ the same distillation method, vapour infusion. The traditional method of producing gin is to steep the botanicals in the neutral spirit prior to distillation to begin extracting the essence of the botanicals, it has been argued that by using this method one boils or stews the botanicals. The vapour method of infusion involves distilling the nuetral spirit on it's own allowing the vapours to pass through the botanicals which are held in a basket in the neck of the still, as the vaporised alcohol passes through the botanicals it extracts their essence. The vapour method of producing gin creates a more subtle and lighter flavour where as steeping especially for an extended period of time like Beefeater who steep for 24 hours before distillation will obviously extract more flavour. Neither method of distillation is necessarily better, they just create a different style of gin.

Bombay Dry is distilled with eight different botanicals; Juniper, Coriander Seeds, Lemon Peel,Angelica Root, Cassia Bark, Orris Root, Liquorice and Almonds and bottled at 43% abv. On the nose Bombay Dry is a rather powerful gin, not so Juniper punchy as Junipero but definitely dominant in the Juniper department, lemony citrus notes follow the juniper but there is an unfortunate alcohol burn which restricts further analysis of aroma.  On the palate the gin is a lot smoother than the burn on the nose would allow you to believe, it is a fresh citrusy gin with juniper not as dominant as it is on the nose but present all the same. Bombay Dry also possesses a rather pleasant earthy, spiciness which I can only imagine comes from the combination of coriander, angelica and iris root, this spicy finish which lingers on the tongue. Over all a very pleasant gin, nothing too surprising or unique just a bold, complex, well made product, neither flavour dominates, a great gin for mixing, especially in longer drinks where lighter products could get lost.


Bombay Sapphire makes use of all eight botanicals used in Bombay Dry but also adds Cubeb Berries and Grains of Paradise in to the mix and is bottled at 40%. The additional botanicals are not the only difference between the two gins, I suspects the proportion of the botanicals differs slightly considering how much lighter Sapphire is than it's big brother. On the nose I am immediately met with a fruity citrus if not slightly acidic zing, behind this the familiar aroma of juniper lingers. On the palate the gin is very light on flavour, the citrus which was ever so dominant on the nose returns but doesn't stay for long, the same can be said for the juniper, the spice which appears in Bombay Dry is back again but much less pronounced, Sapphire has a distinctively shorter taste. 


Sapphire generally a much lighter gin than Bombay Dry, it is this lighter style which may be better suited vodka drinkers or those who have not yet acclimatised to juniper heavy gins, it would be a good gin for a martini if you are trying to wean a guest off vodka, I wouldn't entertain the idea of mixing it in a gin and tonic or lengthening it in any way as it will find itself a little lost.


I do believe both styles of Bombay have a place on the market but feel as though consumers are unsure of where and why this is. Both gin's are excellent products both fulfilling a demand, one for vetran gin drinkers and another for newbies. I would still maintain Bombay Sapphire owes as much of it's success to it's snazzy packaging and marketing as it does to the gin itself. This is by no means a reflection of the quality of the gin but more from my personal experience of people ordering a gin and tonic and requesting either Bombay Sapphire or Gordons as their gin of choice, two gin's which couldn't be further removed from each other but coincidently are two of the biggest marketed gins in the category. I would love to see Bombay Dry more widely available in England and less over shadowed by it's younger sibling.


Hope You Enjoy


Umpleby & Brown      

  

Knock, Knock, Knocking on Death's Door...

Deaths Door Gin as pictured by Sofia Miranda

Death's Door is an American gin distilled in Madison, Wisconsin, named after a treacherous passage between Door County and Washington Island. It is made from organic, wheat, barley and botanicals from Washington Island with a view to restoring the farming in the area whilst protecting the local environment.


The base for the spirit is locally grown, organic hard red winter wheat and malted barley. This 60:40 blend of wheat to malted barley makes an exceptionally smooth base spirit with a subtle malty character, not dissimilar to that of a jonge genever. This base is then infused with three simple botanicals, Juniper, Coriander and Fennel, a surprisingly small number considering gins like Citadelle utilise nineteen botanicals, but i must say the combination of these three botanicals with the exceptional base spirit create an intense yet well rounded product.


The nose is very heavy on the juniper with some malty character shining through followed by spicy notes of the coriander. On the palate it's as if all three botanicals get in line to make their appearance, first that lovely juniper hit followed by a peppery spice from the coriander which lingers as a sweet anise flavour from the fennel comes through at the end. Considering this gin is bottled at 47% abv it is remarkably smooth, a perfect gin made in a bold, classic style, I could imagine Churchill imbibing this gin in a dry martini with just a nod to France to satisfy his need for vermouth. Despite the rather high price tag I would certainly recommend this product, a must have in any gin cabinet.


We Hope You Enjoy


Umpleby & Brown  

Bulldog Gin

Bulldog Gin photographed by Sofia Miranda

Bulldog is a relatively new gin on the market, launched in 2007, distilled by G&J Greenall. It prides itself on it's British heritage despite being produced for an American company, the gin plays host to a number of exotic botanicals areas previously colonised by the British. These exotic botanicals include Lotus Leaves and Dragon Eye from China, Lavander and Poppy, originating in India along with the more traditional botanical mix of Juniper, Lemon Peel, Almond, Angelica, Cassia bark, Coriander, Liquorice and Orris root.

By definition Bulldog is a London Dry gin, it is however not as juniper heavy as the more traditional gins of the style, with a larger focus on the floral supporting cast of botanicals.  On the nose the juniper just about dominates followed closely by fresh lemon citrus and a perfumed lavender aroma. On the palate the juniper immediately shy's away from it's dominate position on the nose being upstaged by the combination of more floral botanicals which dominate the spirit, the lychee notes of the dragon eye and the lavender are most notable with a degree of sweetness being offered from the poppy.

Bulldog see themselves as a mixing gin and the unique flavours certainly lend themselves to a wide variety of mixed drinks. I would however advise caution when mixing with such light gins as it is easy to loose the flavours of a light gin, tailor your recipes to each individual gin rather than assuming a recipe using Beefeater or Tanqueray will be fine to substitute for Bulldog without adjusting other ingredients.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown 

       

Warning, Grapefruit and Coconut!

Hoxton Gin photographed by Sofia Miranda

An unusual gin has emerged on the market, an interesting yet challenging gin, providing something you really wouldn't expect from the category, some of you may have guessed this from the title of this post, I am referring to Hoxton Gin

A recent trend in the gin market has been to use unusual yet subtle botanicals alongside those more traditional herbs and spices, allowing other botanicals to share centre stage with Juniper, resulting in some interesting floral gins such as Aviation. These light, floral gin's certainly make one stop and think whether they belong in the category at all, or whether they would be more at home alongside Belvedere's latest flavours. Essentially these New Western Dry Gin's, as they seem to have been dubbed are just a new breed of gin, inspired by the lighter flavours of those London Dry Gins such as Bombay Sapphire which have pushed the boundaries of the rules dictating juniper must be the dominant flavour.

Hoxton Gin most certainly falls outside the London Dry style but does not quite follow suit of these light floral Western Dry styles either. It chooses some interesting botanicals such as tarragon and iris, botanicals which are delicately painted on the neutral spirit canvas before adding grapefruit and the more surprising coconut with what seems to be an industrial size roller, these botanicals dominate the spirit, in the same way juniper dominates Tanqueray, almost to the extent of masking what makes the product a gin.

I must say at this point I am rather fond of Hoxton Gin as a spirit but can see how purists would turn their noses up at it's gin status and struggle to identify it as gin. On the nose it has very sweet, fresh coconut notes which are followed by zesty grapefruit, if you focus your sense of smell you can just about find juniper at the back shyly popping it's hand up to be counted. The sweetness continues on the palate with the coconut dominating once more closely followed by the grapefruit, with our old friend juniper dragging his feet behind.

Overall an extremely interesting product massively pushing the boundaries of what we know as gin potentially opening up the category to the coconut rum loving masses, not one for purists, but a must try for those with an open mind. I look forward  to see what tropical, tiki style gin libations will emerge out of this change of pace for gin.  

We Hope You Enjoy,

Umpleby & Brown

Lost and Found

My mother was never keen on throwing things away, I was always informed the moment she would it would jump right back in fashion. Truth is, given enough time, everything will some day come back in to vogue with a renewed lease of life and on that day we are all left wondering why this fashion ever died out in the first place. The cocktail world is currently enjoying a resurgence in vintage drinks, classic cocktails made in authentic ways using traditional ingredients and methods are taking the bar world by storm!

Unfortunately my mothers advice never reached the ears of the bartenders of old, leaving many classic libations unrecorded in modern bartender manuals, as a result many beautiful cocktails were left untouched and unappreciated.

Ted Haigh did a sterling job in his book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails researching and bringing these lost drinks back to bartenders and booze aficionados alike, this post will explore some of the absolute gems given a new breath of life by this spectacular publication.

The first drink I wanted to explore was one recorded in Charles H. Baker's 1939 edition of The Gentleman's Companion, The Alamagoozlum Cocktail.

This drink has a rather intense list of specific ingredients making it difficult to reproduce at most home bars and also making it guaranteed to annoy any bartender, especially if like me you decided to order it in the middle of a Friday night service. Having said this, rumour has it Will at Hyde & Co is rather fond of such behaviour, so pop down and see him for an Alamagoozlum when you've got the time...

The Alamagoozlum photographed
by Sofia Miranda

The Alamagoozlum Cocktail

Bols Genever 30ml

Still Mineral Water 30ml 

Appletons Rum V/X 22.5ml

Green Chartreuse 22.5ml

Simple Syrup 22.5ml

Cointreau 7.25ml

Angustora Aromatic Bitters 7.25ml

Egg White 1/2 

The key to this drink is dilution, dry shake first to emulsify the egg white, then take the largest shaker you have, fill it up with ice an give it a very hard and extremely long shake before fine straining it in to a coupe large enough to contain this beastie.

At first glance the drink is slightly reminiscent of a latte, a pleasant coffee colour from the heavy measure of Angostura bitters and a wonderful foam from the egg white. The egg white does a great job at combining the diverse range of flavours whilst giving the drink an exceptionally smooth mouth feel. On the palate the malty notes of the genever shine through immediately which are followed by sweet, honeyed caramel notes from the rum and an aromatic spicy finish of cloves and cinnamon courtesy of the Chartreuse and the Angostura.

All in all a rather tasty and charming drink, more on the sweet of the spectrum, a perfect digestif.

The next beverage of particular interest is The Twentieth Century Cocktail. First recorded in the Cafe Royal Bar Book of 1937, and named after a super modern streamline train from New York to Chicargo that was unveiled that year.

This is an extraordinary libation using a diverse range of contrasting ingredients, our good friend gin, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice and Creme de Cacao blanc. The first three ingredients are fairly standard ingredients often mixed with gin, indeed without the Creme de Cacao it looks remarkably similar to the Corpse Reviver No.2. The cacao was what made this drink appeal to me when I first read about it and is what sets it apart from the hundreds of gin cocktails which have come and gone over the years.

The Twentieth Century Cocktail  

Tanqueray - 50ml

Lillet Blanc - 20ml

Lemon Juice - 20ml

Creme de Cacao Blanc - 15ml

Shake over ice and strain in to  chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lemon zest.

A very light and refreshing beverage with that lovely juniper and citrus combination upfront, the surprise comes at the back of the plate when a wonderful sweet chocolate note coats the mouth, refreshing citrusy chocolate, what a novel idea. If the cocoa notes are too over powering cut down on it a little, after all it's not just the Martini which can be tailored to the individuals palate.  

The final drink i wanted to cover for this post is potentially one of the coolest named vintage drinks, the  Satan's Whiskers Cocktail! Although a gin based libation this particular cocktail is rather light on the gin, sharing centre stage with fresh orange juice, dry and sweet vermouth, orange liqueur and orange bitters. The Satan's Whiskers can be served either straight (with Grand Marnier) or curled (with orange curacao), personally I prefer a Curled Satan's Whiskers using Cointreau as I find the flavour of Grand Marnier a little over powering. As for my gin of choice, I was looking for a nice big, bold gin, ironically Deaths Door Gin works rather well.

Satan's Whiskers Cocktail (Curled)

  

Deaths Door Gin - 20ml

Noilley Prat Dry Vermouth - 20ml

Punt e Mes Sweet Vermouth - 20ml

Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice - 20ml

Cointreau - 10ml

Orange Bitters - 5ml

Shake all ingredients over ice and fine strain in a champagne coupe, garnish with a lovely curled orange zest twist. 

A lovely zesty orange nose on this drink, with huge citrusy orange notes with a rather bitter finish from the vermouth and heavy use of bitters, a drink for those with a more adult palate accustomed to bitter flavours.

Well I hope you enjoy rediscovering these once lost, luscious libations. These are only a taster of the spectacular selection Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails has to offer, if you like what you see I would certainly recommend the book.

Umpleby & Brown 

    

Have you seen Tom Collins?

The Tom Collins is a very simple yet extremely moorish sparkling gin libation, one which has well and truly stood the test of time. It was first published in Jerry Thomas' 'The Bartenders Guide' in 1876 and is a very simply drink, essentially a gin and sparkling lemonade. Despite it's simplicity it has undergone a lot of change over the years due to styles of gin going out of fashion and substitutes being sought, to this end there is much debate as to which style of gin should be used in this drink...

Just to clarify, when I say which gin 'should' be used in this drink i'm not presuming to pinpoint an exact brand which must be used, after all that would abuse the freedom and creativity which allows bartenders to flourish, I am merely attempting to pinpoint the style of gin which would have been used to craft the original Tom Collins.

In the recent past a wide variety of gin's have been used to craft this drink, Plymouth, Tanqueray and Beefeater all make a fantastic Tom Collins with big bold flavours, G'Vine Floraison also makes a rather cheeky and pleasant Tom Collins, although now some classic styles of gin are making a comeback and fighting for a place as the correct style to be used when recreating this classic beverage

Old Tom is one of these classic styles of gin which has recently come back in to vogue, this sweetened style of gin, is a throw back to the 18th century when the base spirit used as a canvas for gin had a lot of impurities which were evident in the final product. This style of gin was either sweetened with sugar, or at times when sugar was at a premium distilled with sweeter, more pungent botanicals to mask the unpleasant impurities. One of the pioneering brands in the revival of Old Tom Gin is Haymans Old Tom. It is widely believed that the Collins is a category of drinks of which the Tom Collins is a twist using Old Tom Gin, if you ordered a Tom Collins in a bar now days you, would probably be served a little something like this;

Tom Collins (Old Tom)

Haymans Old Tom Gin - 60ml

Lemon Juice - 25ml

Simple Syrup - 10ml

Soda Water - Top

Very simply shake the first three ingredients over ice, strain over fresh, cubed ice and top with soda, garnish with a lemon wedge.

This style of Tom Collins is delightful, a refreshing classic lemonade fortified with gin, the botanical notes shine through beautifully, a charming easy to drink libation perfect for the summer months. It is however not as true to the original as some may believe... 

The origins of the Tom Collins can be traced back to the Tom Collins hoax of 1874, where some rascal spread word across New York of some fellow by the name of Tom Collins slandering people left, right and centre.

The practical joke is recorded to go a little something like this, the rascal in question approaches a group in a bar, turns to one upstanding gentleman among their number and enquires whether they had 'seen Tom Collins?' The practical joker then continues to inform the person that Tom Collins had been talking about them in a very rough manner, saying things which are rather calculated to induce people in to thinking there is nothing they wouldn't steal short of a red hot stove... the rascal would then inform the gentlemen of where Tom Collins could be found and the chase would begin! 

The joke got  to such heights that groups of people, all wronged by this mysterious Tom Collins would travel from bar to bar in search of him, news papers of the time were even in on the joke publishing fake sightings of Tom around the city. It is believed that one cheeky bartender tired of people storming in to his saloon asking after Tom Collins decided to furnish these angry gentlemen with a libation of the same name and the Tom Collins was born! This claim can be substantiated over that of the use of Old Tom gin by looking at the book in which it first appeared, Jerry Thomas lists the Tom Collins as a catagory of drinks providing a recipe for one made with Whisky, Brandy and of course Gin.

So if it isn't named after Old Tom gin, what gin does one use? Considering the company the gin Tom Collins holds, namely Whisky and Brandy and taking in to account Hollands gin, aka Genever was imported in to the states at six times the amount of London gin, one would be wise to concede this full bodied Dutch style of gin would have been used in the original Tom Collins, a libation which would look a little something like this;

 Tom Collins (Genever)

Bokma Genever - 60ml

Lemon Juice - 25ml

Simple Syrup - 12,5ml

Soda - Top

Once again very simply shake the first three ingredients over ice, strain over fresh, cubed ice and top with soda, garnish with a lemon wedge.

A Tom Collins made with genever is certainly a different kettle of fish, the malty character of the spirit shines through, the drink itself has somewhat of a pleasantly oily mouthfeel, still refreshing but not as clean and crisp as one containing old tom gin.

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown