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