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     

Arousing your Appetite with Gin...

Gin is one of those very flexible spirits, it can be used successfully in a variety of drink styles, one in which gin excels in is the Aperitif.

An aperitif is an alcoholic beverage used to excite the palate and stimulate the appetite, characteristics of a successful aperitif include bitterness, dryness or a certain level of acidity.

More popular gin based aperitif's include the Martini and the Gin and Tonic although some well known gin classics such as the French 75, Corpse Reviver #2  and the Negroni are also fantastic for this purpose.

The French 75 makes a perfect aperitif, dry Champagne, lemon juice and of course gin. Created sometime before 1919 when the recipe first appeared in print, accredited to a chap named Macgarry and is rumoured to be named after the 75mm Howitzer field gun used by the French during World War One. Broken down this drink is effectively a gin fizz with champagne in place of carbonated water.

I find what often lets the French 75 down is the general perception that because wine is being used to lengthen the drink it is acceptable to skimp on the gin... this of course is nonsense and a good healthy dose of gin is required to do this bubbly beverage justice. I personally love the fresh floral notes of Hendricks in my French 75's and feel as though a thin cucumber garnish does it much more justice than the overly used cocktail cherry, our preffered recipe for the French 75 is as follows;

The French 75

- Hendricks Gin - 30ml

- Lemon Juice - 12.5ml

- Sugar Syrup - 6.25ml

- Champagne - Top up

Thin Cucumber Slice Garnish

French 75

Shake all ingredients (except Champagne, that would get messy) then fine strain in to a champagne coupe or flute, garnish and drink whilst the bubbles can still tickle your nose.

  

The beauty of this drink is the mouth watering dryness it delivers when well balanced, the key is going easy on the sugar syrup especially when using a sweeter gin such as Hendricks, just enough to balance out the lemon whilst still remembering it is still a variation on the sour.

Where as the French 75 is a sparkling member of the sour family gaining it's palate stimulating properties from it's dry citrusy notes the Negroni is a completely different kettle of fish. It hails from the aromatic family of mixed drinks and receives it's ability to stimulate the palate from the bitter notes courtesy of the Campari.

The Negroni is one of those cheeky equal measure libations that is surprisingly well balanced, consisting of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, three ingredients which blend together perfectly each contributing their own unique flavours, sweetness and bitterness. This is an incredibly complex drink with so many botanical flavours whizzing around, neither the gin, Campari or vermouth take centre stage  but embrace each other perfectly.

It is essential to use a big gin in this drink, something which can stand up and be counted among the other flavours, to this end my go to gin is Tanqueray 47.3%, I find this bold simple, Juniper led gin works wonders in the Negroni. As for the vermouth, Antica Formula is a sensational sweet vermouth, plenty of spice and enough sweetness to balance out the bitterness of the Campari.

The Negroni is a very simple drink and can be easily recreated at home without the need for specific equipment, the recipe is as follows;

The Negroni

Tanqueray 47.3% - 30ml

Antica Formula - 30ml

Campari - 30ml

Orange or Grapefruit zest to garnish.

Add all ingredients to an large whisky tumbler, add ice, stir a little then garnish with an orange zest. 

Another gin based drink perfect as an aperitif is one I discovered in Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, the Corpse Reviver #2.

The class of drinks from which the Corpse Reviver #2 hails from were usually intended as morning after pick me up's, originally appearing in Harry Craddock's 1930 edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book where he notes 'four of these taken in quick succession will unrevive the soul again'. Although not conceived for this purpose this drink works perfectly as an aperitif, combining two classic aperitif liquors, Absinthe and Lillet Blanc with lemon juice, Cointreau and of course... Gin.

This drink can be very easily abused by a heavy handed host, make sure all ingredients are accurately measured and you will have a perfectly complex and refreshing pre dinner libation.

The Corpse Reviver #2

Deaths Door Gin - 20ml

 Cointreau - 20ml

Lillet Blanc - 20ml

Lemon juice - 20ml

Absinthe - 2 Dashes

Sunken maraschino cherry to garnish.

Corpse Reviver #2

Shake all ingredients over ice and fine strain in to a cocktail glass. It may make it easier to deliver stringent amounts of absinthe by decanting some into an empty bitters bottle.

All the ingredients shine through in a well made Corpse Reviver #2, the Cointreau, absinthe and Lillet add a pleasurable sweetness but do not over power the zesty lemon juice, allowing the drink to retain it's palate cleansing tartness. Until recently Tanqueray was my go to gin for this drink, however I have recently had the pleasure of sampling Deaths Door Gin. This bold, spicy gin works amazingly well in the Corpse Reviver #2 with the sweet aniseed notes of the fennel perfectly complementing the absinthe.     

The French 75, Negroni and the Corpse Reviver #2 are just three of a whole range of gin based aperitifs, others perfect for this purpose include the Aviation, the White Lady and the Martinez, libations we will be covering very soon...

Photography by Sofia Miranda

We hope you enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

    

Taking the Dive...

In the interest of providing you with unlimited ways to enjoy our beloved gin, whilst at the same time sticking the V's up to responsible drinking, we present to you, The Nose Dive.

The Nose Dive isn't just another one of these modern shots or bombs which all the kids are drinking  now days, Oh No, this shot has substance, history and a cheeky little twist... well an olive but lets not get technical!

Found on page 113 of The Savoy Cocktail Book the following instructions are given for preparing and consuming The Nose Dive;

'Take one nooker of Gin, place in it an olive, then deposit the glass carefully in the bottom of an ordinary tumbler. Fill the said tumbler with water, ginger ale or what have you (more gin perhaps), until almost to the top of the small glass, then down the whole thing quickly. That is, everything but the small glass...'

So there you have it, a spot of irresponsible drinking 1930's style, although if that seems like a little to much effort perhaps a game of Gin Face is more your style.

Take as many nookers of gin as you have friends and knock them back, who ever makes a face is in need of another shot and the cycle continues...

Umpleby & Brown are advocates of responsible drinking... most of the time

Enjoy!            

G&J Greenall's

Greenall's 
At this years Imbibe Exhibition two particular gins grabbed my attention more than any others, both were from a distillery I have given little time, wrongfully stereotyping them as a budget brand producer... Greenalls. I must admit my generalisation was not substantiated, being a little bit of a snob I was put of by Greenalls low price bracket, more fool me. The two gin's in question are both new expressions from this historical distillery Bloom and Berkley Square gin as I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of these gins i decided to discover Greenalls standard London Dry gin too.

Greenall's London Dry 40% abv
Greenalls original gin is a classic London Dry styled gin, lots of juniper on the nose with a  amount of lemon and coriander spice. On the palate it is lighter and more complex than I expected with juniper playing nicely with the other botanicals rather than simply dominating them. I found the gin to be very smooth especially when compared to other gins in the same price bracket.

Greenall's Bloom Gin
Bloom gin has been crafted by the gin worlds only female master distiller, Joanne Moore. This delightfully floral gin benefits from the unique infusion of Chamomile, Pomelo and Honeysuckle, three botanicals which rarely, if at all make make an appearance along side the usual Juniper, Angelica, Coriander and Cubeb berries.

On the nose the citrusy, orange notes of the pomelo are very up front with the chamomile and pine notes of the juniper politely waiting in the background. On the palate the pomelo once again comes through with both orange and grapefruit notes, the honeysuckle plays its part well by introducing a pleasant sweetness, the chamomile introduces some lovely floral notes reminiscent of violets before a lovely welcomed pine finish courtesy of the juniper presents itself. The spirit is exceptionally smooth with a beautiful mouth feel and very little alcohol burn to speak of. 

The bottle goes some way to indicate Greenall's target audience for Bloom, female drinkers. Despite this I happened to find the gin delightful and blatant stereo types aside, preferred it to the more 'masculine' Berkley Square which my female companion at the exhibition actually favoured.

Lost man points aside Bloom is a very unique and impressive gin, very light and easy drinking, I would highly recommend it. 



Berkley Square review coming soon...


We Hope You Enjoy


Umpleby & Brown

G'Vine Floraison 40%

G'Vine floraison pictured by Sofia Miranda

This is a very interesting, sweet fruity gin from the cognac region of France. Of course with gin were not particularly concerned with the terrior, however what is interesting is the base spirit. Not content with the conventional grain base used by many gin's G'Vine uses a high proof spirit, made from the Ugni Blanc grape. G' Vine believe this creates a smoother and more suave canvas on which to paint the delicate complexity of their chosen botanicals.

G'Vine infuse nine whole fruit botanicals in to their neutral grape spirit; juniper berries (of course), ginger root, liquorice, cassia bark, green cardamom, coriander, cubeb berries, nutmeg and lime. In addition to this they also separately infuse the green grape flower, a rare flower which grows on the Ugni Blanc vine for only a few days in June, in their neutral grape spirit. In tern they then blend both distillates with more neutral grape spirit for a final distillation prior to bottling.

The gin has a very sweet, floral nose which cannot stop making me think of pear drops, a little spice comes through courtesy of the nutmeg and cardamom as well as a nice hint of juniper. On the palate the grape flower, or what I imagine to be the flower having not had the pleasure of consuming it, is very dominant with juniper and a hint of lime lingering in the back. It is defiantly not a traditional, juniper heavy style of gin but is none the less very pleasant and easy to drink, bringing something very different and unique to the table. This would make a great introduction to gin for vodka drinkers.

We Hope You Enjoy


Umpleby & Brown

Yo ho ho and a bottle of... Gin?

The entry to the Black Friars
Distillery, Plymouth, England.

It’s no secret that those who serve in Her Majesties Royal Navy are rather partial to the odd tot of rum, but what about that most English of spirits, gin?

There’s no coincidence that the largest and busiest ports in England, such as Plymouth, Bristol and London sooner or later became home to distilleries making their own local style of gin. The most successful of all these distilleries is undoubtably the Black Friars Distillery in Plymouth, producers of Plymouth Gin. By 1850 Black Friars Distillery was supplying the Navy with 1,000 barrels of gin a year, a trade which helped to launch the brand to global status by the late 1800’s.

Alcohol on navy ships was required to be of a higher strength than regular alcohol with 100° English proof, or  57% abv considered acceptable navy strength. the reasoning behind this was that if the gin somehow managed to contaminate the gun powder all it would still light and the ships could still defend themselves in the event of a battle. Sailors also used to use this to their advantage by pouring a little spirit on gunpowder to test whether their alcohol was at an acceptable strength. Having a long history with the navy the Black Friars Distillery have released Plymouth Gin at the original navy strength of 57%. 

As butch as navy folk were, 57% gin is still a lot to handle, they therefore mixed it with other ingredients such as lime and angostura, to help the medicine go down as it were. Several classic gin cocktails were born out of these old naval customs, most notably the Gimlet and the Pink Gin.

The Gimlet is a very simple mixture of gin and lime cordial, by mixing their daily ration with lime, sailors helped prevent scurvy, the only issue was that fresh lime could not last the length of long voyages. In 1867 Lauchlin Rose patented a method of preserving lime juice without the use of alcohol and Roses lime cordial was born, later that year the Merchant Shipping Act was passed which required all Royal and Merchant navy ships to provide a ration of lime to their sailors to prevent scurvy.   

Sticking with tradition we will of course be using Plymouth Navy Strength gin and the original lime cordial, Roses. Some consider the use of lime cordial as opposed to lime juice a throw back to popular use of sour mix in 80’s disco drinks, however the Gimlet is a homage to an old naval tradition and should be made according to the classic recipe, it is acceptable to use a couple of squeezes of lime to refresh the cordial but not a direct substitution.

The Gimlet

- Plymouth Navy Strength Gin - 50ml

- Roses Lime Cordial - 30ml

- Lime Juice - 10ml

- Garnish with an aromatic lime zest 

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing vessel, fill with ice and stir, fine strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.

A reasonable dilution is required to balance this drink by lengthening the cordial and taming the navy strength gin, when this is achieved this is a rather pleasant beverage which due to the few ingredients used really allows the aromatic botanicals in the gin shine through.

The next navy inspired gin cocktail is the Pink Gin, a simple yet cheeky concoction of gin and angostura aromatic bitters.

Just as lime was mixed with gin due to its scurvy fighting characteristics, so to were bitters married with the spirit for their medicinal purposes. Angostura Aromatic Bitters were created in 1824 as a cure for fever and stomach disorders by a German Surgeon General working for the Venezuelan army, Dr. Siegert.  

Word of Dr. Siegert’s bitters soon spread to visitors of Venezuela, mostly sailors suffering from sickness who in turn took the bitters with them on their travels, at the time the port in the town of Angostura was an important trading post and attracting a lot of Royal Navy ships, ships with large stocks of gin...

The Pink Gin

Plymouth Navy Strength Gin - 50ml

Angostura Bitters - 4 Dashes 

Lemon Zest garnish 

Thoroughly stir all ingredients in a large mixing vessel before straining over ice in an old fashioned glass and garnishing with a lemon zest.

The Pink Gin is a formidable beverage, no sweetener, no delicate flavours, just big and bold, navy strength gin and bitters. Surprisingly more bitters work better than just one dash in this drink, I believe four dashes is just enough to balance out the botanical base of the gin with the aromatics of the bitters, the lemon zest adds a lovely fresh aroma.     

We Hope You Enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

The Genever Daisy and Death in the Gulf Stream

Genever is commonly described as the mother of gin, this malty botanically infused spirit, sometimes referred to as Hollands Gin, is what inspired the gin we drink today. Although it is a spirit in it’s own right we believe it is unfair to speak of gin without paying homage to Genever. 

Genever is made in a similar way to gin, a high proof spirit is redistilled with a selection of botanicals, of which juniper must be included. The difference is that this spirit is then blended with a spirit is made from malted barley, the addition of which gives genever it’s distinctive malty, slightly oily flavour.

With the forgotten and classic cocktail renaissance in full swing as well as recent research by David Wondrich suggesting that many classic gin cocktails from the Martinez, the Collins and the Aviation may have evolved from drinks originally containing genever, cocktails with this old spirit are making there way on to drinks menu’s up and down the country. 

We decided to cover two genever cocktails, one rediscovered classic, created by Ernest Hemming way and a forgotten cocktail usually made with gin, rum and just about any other spirit except genever.

The first cocktail is one either created or very much enjoyed by Hemmingway, Death in the Gulf Stream. We discovered this interesting libation in Jigger, Beaker & Glass by Charles H. Baker Jr., a book originally published in 1932 as The Gentleman’s Companion.

The recipe calls for a large amount of Holland’s Gin, in this case we opted for Bols Genever considering its high malt wine content, a characteristic of classic genevers, the juice and zest of a whole lime and four dashes of Angostura Bitters. The original recipe is adverse to adding any sugar although does concede that it is acceptable to add a tea spoon if necessary. It is however worth considering that Hemmingway was diabetic and as a result enjoyed drinks on the rather sour side. In the interest of making a more approachable drink we have opted to sweeten it with agave syrup, a sweetener that has proven diabetic friendly… here's to you Hemmingway!

Death in the Afternoon

- 60ml Bols Genever

- 25ml Lime Juice

- 4 long Dashes of Angustora Bitters

- Zest of 1 Lime

- 10ml of Agave Syrup

- Lime Zest Garnish

Peel lime with a potato peeler, add zest in to Boston glass with other ingredients, Shake over cubed ice, strain in to an Old Fashioned over cubed ice, garnish with a lime zest and serve… 

The second drink we chose to visit was a classic style of drinks enjoying a resurgence in certain circles, the Daisy. The Daisy is a sour based cocktail sweetened with orange liqueur and lifted with a splash of charged water. The Daisy is a very bright, refreshing, summery cocktail and works remarkably well with Genever. The malty characteristics of Genever appear somewhere in the background with the botanical backbone and citrus notes make this drink approachable to new comers to the spirit.

Genever Daisy

Bols Genever - 60ml

Grand Marnier - 10ml

Lemon Juice - 22.5ml

Simple Syrup - 10ml

Soda Water - Splash

Garnish with a lemon or orange zest

Combine all ingredients except soda water in a shaker, fill to the top with ice and shake hard, fine strain in to a chilled cocktail glass, add a dash of soda then garnish with a lemon or orange zest. 

We hope you enjoy

Umpleby & Brown

The Gin Martini

For our first instalment of this blog we could think of no better subject than the most quintessential of gin cocktails… the Martini.

The Martini is the perfect example of liquid alchemy, this classic combination of gin, vermouth and the old school addition of bitters creates a drink more than the sum of its parts.

It’s difficult to pin down the origins of the Martini, some suggest the cocktail evolved from the Martinez, a cocktail consisting of Genever, sweet vermouth, bitters and maraschino liqueur. Like so many cocktails we will never know whether it was developed independently or inspired one of the many mixed drinks containing spirit and vermouth. Either way we feel as though the mystery behind this drink further enhances it’s appeal.

As a true classic cocktail the Martini is an extremely versatile drink and has been able to adapt to suit the changing palates of countless generations. Over the years the proportions of this drink have changed drastically from the vermouth heavy ‘wet’ Martini’s popular at the drinks inception to wisp of vermouth present in the bone dry Martini’s popular today. Advocates of this dry style of Martini include Winston Churchill who was famed for lifting his drink towards France for his intake of vermouth. In addition to the reduction in vermouth the use of bitters have also fell from popularity, although with the new breath of life bitters have received recently one would hope they make a comeback.

So how to make the perfect Martini? Well that is entirely up to your personal tastes and preferences, after all everyone believes they make the perfect Martini and the truth is everyone is right! Our preferred Martini goes a little something like this;

Junipero Dry Gin – 50ml

Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth – 20ml

Bitter Truth Celery Bitters – 2 Dash

Garnish with a Lime Zest 

Classic Gin Martini served wet with celery bitters and a lime twist. 

To prepare take a large mixing vessel, add the ingredients and fill to the top with ice, stir thoroughly ensuring the drink is properly chilled without over dilution, you still want to appreciate that you are drinking alcohol, one minute should just about do the trick. Strain in to a chilled martini glass and garnish.

We are strong advocates that a Martini must be stirred as opposed to shaken. Although James Bond has regrettably made the latter sound cool (not to mention popularising the sacrilegious Vodka based version) a shaken martini aerates the drink inserting tiny micro bubbles which restrict access to certain taste buds thereby preventing you from fully appreciating everything your choice of spirit and vermouth have to offer. If that wasn’t enough a martini is supposed to be a silky smooth beverage something which can only be achieved by stirring the drink. 

Several other Martini variations or Martini inspired cocktails have also branched off from the original including a Gibson, a Franklin Martini and a Dirty Martini.

The beauty of the Martini is that there is one out there for everyone, we are fairly confident with the right gin, the right vermouth, a little ‘practice’ to perfect your preferred ratio and, dare we say it, a healthy slug of bitters you can find a martini which will take your breath away.

We hope you enjoy

Umpleby & Brown