‘I don’t like gin’. If ever there were a sentence designed to upset me, it’s that one – or ‘I don’t like whisky.’ The former is often said by whisky drinkers who might even think of gin as a wasted cask of spirit that could have been turned into drams. Those who say they don’t like whisky do so with a grimace, thinking of the wrong type of whisky (for them) that influenced their view. If only they’d tried drams from a PX cask they might change their mind thanks to those wonderfully rich, figgy, dark chocolate and coffee notes such as Nomad Outland Whisky with its beautiful Christmas cake flavours or fabulously syrupy Deanston 2002 Organic PX Finish which reminds me of mince pies (https://thespiritsembassy.com/products/deanston-2002-organic-px-finish-700ml-49-3?_pos=5&_sid=893abaac9&_ss=r).
But I have the same answer for both the ‘I don’t like’ crowds – as I do for dating – you just haven’t tried the right one. Gin, like whisky, doesn’t just have a single flavour profile. Ask non-gin drinkers what gin’s like and they’ll immediately think heavy juniper gins, the old classic profile which distillers address with different levels of finesse and style. I love big butch juniper gins like Sipsmith’s V.J.O.P. Gin but only smooth ones, balance is still needed. Simply put, not all gin is equal so no one should dismiss all gins unless they’ve tried every single one – even I haven’t done that!
When I was choosing the 5 gins for The Spirits Embassy Virtual Gin Tasting on 14th May, I wanted a selection of different gins. Not just ones which people were less likely to have tried already but different flavour profiles. I didn’t want 5 classic gins – 5 London Dry Gins – because I also wanted to appeal to the open-minded ‘I don’t like gin’ people, and also because there are different gins for every mood, every weather condition.
How do you judge a gin? I’ll admit, shelf appeal is important to me – it’s why I wanted to try Sabatini gin which is styled like the garden of an Italian villa with the herbs turned into botanicals. Sniff it and you’re sitting on an Italian hillside in the sunshine on a warm summer evening. And it’s the flavour profile that sells the gin to me – those all-important botanicals, especially seasonal or local ones. Pilgrim’s Original Gin is an autumn gin, picking fruit from the garden. The label doesn’t do it for me, it’s a bit messy, but the botanicals do – blackcurrant and liquorice. That’s one of my favourite sweets but with those added classic gin notes, including juniper. That’s what I love about gin, there’s a basic theme but so many ways to make it different. Unique. There’s no such thing as ‘just gin’.
I have absolutely loved the whisky tastings I’ve done throughout lockdown, including with The Spirits Embassy, discovering different drams, different distilleries or expressions. We’re doing this with gin on 14th May, a chance to try 5 different gins with 5 different mixers – very much a ‘try before you buy’ and I hope those attending from the comfort of their sofas fall in love with at least 2 of the gins, if not more. I have a feeling I know which one will be the star of the show…
Gins – 5 x 30ml
Sabatini
Boatyard Old Tom
Pilgrim’s Original
Tinkture Rose
Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz
Tonics
Walter Gregor Mint & Cucumber Tonic Water 200ml
Walter Gregor Original Tonic Water 200ml
Walter Gregor Apple & Cinnamon Tonic Water 200ml
Artisan Drinks Co. Violet Blossom Tonic 200ml
Fever-tree Ginger Ale 150ml