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  

     

  

Stay Sprightly With Gin

The origins of Gin lie in the medicinal value of Juniper Berries, the dominant botanical in this delightful spirit which are believed to be an effective diuretic. Over history many classic cocktails have built on the supposed remediable powers of Gin, the Pink Gin used the addition of Angostura Bitters to fight sea sickness and digestive problems, the Gimlet relies on the citrus in lime cordial to counteract scurvy and the Gin & Tonic made the most of quinine to prevent malaria, well until this naughty little virus evolved.

In addition to these well known and age old gin based remedies there are some other little known but equally cheeky gin based elixirs worth a mention...

One particular remedy which caught my eye wasn't so much a cocktail rather a tasty snack, which just so happens contain gin and is believed to help reduce the pain caused by Arthritis; Gin Soaked Raisins!

This is a very simple natural alternative to the cocktail of pain killers often prescribed to those suffering with Arthritis. This simple remedy only requires two ingredients; golden raisins (not those common black raisins you see so much in these days) and of course Gin. With juniper being the magic medicinal ingredient in gin you will want a very juniper heavy gin, although be aware taht you are only hydrating raisins with it so don't go over the top, Gordon's Gin, with it's punchy juniper flavour and reasonable price tag it suits this recipe down to a tee.

So take your lovely golden raisins and pop them in reliable piece of Tupperware, ensure there is only one layer of raisins with none over lapping, cover the raisins with our favourite juniper laced spirit, seal and leave for two weeks, or until the raisins have imbibed the gin you have sacrificed to them. The recommended daily dose is 9 of these cheeky edibles, which can either be taken in quick succession or over the course of a day. If your feeling rather exotic you could always spice up the mixture with cinnamon, cloves or any other spice which jumps to mind and if you feel like indulging your swet tooth perhaps a spoon full of honey would help the medicine go down...      

It is debatable whether the raisins, the gin or the random combination of both is key to reducing the pain caused by Arthritis but many people have stood bye this folk remedy for years, but why not discover this for yourself...

Moving on from the chronic pain of arthritis to the more fleeting, yet still irritating pain of a headache we present yet another gin based remedy, this time in the form of The London Cocktail, a drink true to the original definition of a cocktail, the recipe was taken from 'Cocktails, How to Mix Them' by 'Robert'. Being such a classic style of drink I thought it was only right to use a classic style of gin, Jensens Bermondsey it is then...

The London Cocktail

Jensens Bermondsey Gin - 50ml

Sugar Syrup - 5ml

Orange Bitters - 2 Dashes

Absinthe - 2 Drops

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

It is worth noting that the following ritual is necessary if The London Cocktail is going to rid you of your head demons...

Take a little absinthe in the palm of ones hands, rub them till dry then sniff through the nose then enjoy The London Cocktail while the pain eases away. Warning overconsumption of this libation may cause the headache to return in the morning, should this be the case you may be in need of a pick me up, so for your morning after needs...

When it comes to gin morning pick me up's one is spoiled for choice a Corpse Reviver #2, the juniper laced cousin of the Bloody Mary; the Red Snapper or better yet a Morning Glory Fizz.

The Morning Glory Fizz is usually considered a Scotch based cocktail although our dear friend 'Robert' is open to using all variety of spirits in this drink, anything from Brandy to Rum is fair game in his book, although I feel gin creates a rather spiffing tipple.

The Morning Glory Fizz

Martin Millers Westbourne - 50ml

Egg White - 25ml

Lemon Juice - 20ml

Absinthe - 5ml

Bitter Truth Celery Bitters - 2 Dash

Blended Sugar - 1 Bar Spoon

Dry shake all ingredients (without ice) then once again with ice strain in to an 8oz glass with no ice, top with soda. Garnish with Peychaurds Bitters in the foam.

So there you have it, a few cheeky libations to leave one feeling full of spirit and vitality, we hope these keep you happy, healthy and full of gin in the new year!

Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

The Vodka Scandal!

Spirits of all kinds whether it be Gin, R(h)um or Tequila have been popularised by mixed drinks, cocktails with substance, history, oh yes and originality....

Vodka came to America from Eastern Europe where it was classically drunk straight, launched in a society dominated by cocktail culture this traditional method of consumption would simply not do. With no traditional cocktails to speak of and considering vodka is essentially unflavoured gin, one wonders where those marketing genius's searched for inspiration.

One of the cocktails that popularised vodka was the Moscow Mule, created in 1941 by John G. Martin, the chap who had just acquired the rights to Smirnoff vodka in the U.S. and Jack Morgan, the owner of the Cock 'n' Bull salon and coincidently a fellow who was trying to launch his own ginger beer. The two met and gave birth to the Moscow Mule by combining their products and adding a splash of lime juice, a friend of theirs had just inherited a copper factory so as a way of promoting this lovely libation they served it in copper mugs... what a lovely story.

A similar drink which was found on bar menus in the late 1800's and early 1900's right up until World War II was the Gin Buck, a refreshing, spicy drink perfect for the summer, the recipe for this beverage can be found below, although it may seem suspiciously familiar;

The Gin Buck

Tanqueray - 60ml

Fentimans Ginger Beer - 150ml

 Lime juice - 15ml

Gimmicky drinking vessel aside this is remarkably similar to the Moscow Mule, only difference being the Gin Buck has the added pleasure of a punchy juniper flavoured spirit providing it with a more interesting flavour. I would recommend using ginger beer as opposed to the widely recommended ginger ale for this drink as what would have been described as ginger ale in the 1900's would not be the lightly flavoured Canada Dry we are familiar with now, it would be a fiery ginger soda... ginger beer it is then.

It would be unfair to accuse Vodka of pilfering this drink from Gin, after all, rum and scotch have also been known to mix well with ginger beer and were widely drunk around the same time as the Gin Buck, but what about the Martini?

There is little argument that the Gin Martini was the original. Despite this it has become common practice to inquire if someone requests a Martini as to their spirit of choice or in some uncivilised establishments to simply whip up one with vodka.   

The popularity of the Vodka Martini and the decline of the Gin Martini can be attributed to an American drinking habit coined as 'the three martini lunch'. During their lunch break from highly stressful jobs American professionals began to indulge in a liquid lunch of several Martini's. Now three martini's can no doubt make any ones afternoon go quicker, unfortunately gin's distinctive aroma would often give away the reason for an employees reduced productivity, que clever marketing...

In the 1950's Smirnoff launched a campaign using the slogan 'Smirnoff, Leaves You Breathless'. Now this could simply be suggesting the product is outstanding and will leave you marvelling at it's quality, or as it was widely interpreted, it was suggesting that vodka based martini's could not be detected by the boss on your return to work... the three martini lunch reigns supreme. 

Once again it would be unfair to suggest Vodka robbed the martini from gin as prior to Smirnoff's clever marketing antics the combination of Vodka and Vermouth was known as a Kangaroo. Although if the Kangaroo developed independently from the Martini it cannot be denied that Vodka, like a cheap groupie, tagged on to the popularity of this drink to aid it's own success.

For further information on the Gin Martini check out our post.

Fast forward to the 1980's and we come to one of those modern classics, the Cosmopolitan, a vodka creation through and through right? The widely accepted creator of the drink was Cheryl Cook around 1985 who wanted to craft a martini style drink to suit a wider palate adding cranberry juice for aesthetic value 'to make it oh so pretty in pink'. The Cosmopolitan was popularised by Dale DeGroff who gave the signature flamed orange zest garnish and served it to celebrates such as Madonna before being made even more famous after appearing on the popular TV show Sex in the City.

Funny thing is the modern Cosmopolitan is remarkably similar to a recipe for a 'Cosmopolitan Daisy' which can be found in a compilation of recipes from between 1903 and 1933 entitled 'Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars'.

The Cosmopolitan Daisy

Plymouth Gin - 50ml

Cointreau - 15ml

Lemon Juice - 20ml

Raspberry Syrup - 10ml 

Garnish with an orange zest twist

So simular in name, ingredients and still pretty in pink, however The Cosmopolitan Daisy has a flavour profile far removed from the modern Cosmopolitan. In addition to this the recipe has only only recently surfaced from an obscure book published fifty years before the birth of the vodka Cosmopolitan, I would therefore be inclined to believe the Cosmopolitan developed independently from the Cosmopolitan Daisy after all, it's a small world.     

Personally I remain undecided whether vodka has pillaged most of it's more credible libations from gin or just managed to develop very similar drinks, either way it has been said that the fight for survival can justify swindle and theft, just be sure to respect what preceded these popular vodka drinks after all I hear trends have a way of  coming back around...

Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown