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| 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.
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
