world gin day 2015
World Gin Day is upon us and this year at the London Gin Club we are celebrating with a World Gin tasting menu, a gin tasting experience to be reckoned with we think. We have 3 countries vying for gin supremecy:
- Holland, the birth place of gin – a wonderfully smooth 3 year aged Zuidam Genever,
- from good old London Town our own creation, 7 Dials,
- and the USA independent in spirit including their gin, our friends in Brooklyn, Dorothy Parker.
So, a little bit about each character in gin threesome:
Zuidam is a traditional Dutch Genever from Zuidam. The grain spirit is distilled from equal parts corn, rye and malted barley. The corn brings a rich sweetness, the rye spiciness and the malted barley provides the backbone. The new spirit is triple distilled in a small pot still. Then it is partially distilled a fourth time with selected botanicals, juniper, licorice and aniseed. Finally, the spirit and the botanical distillate are blended and reduced to 45% abv before ageing in small oak barrels. We’ll be serving this in a traditional Geneva glass, straight up. The mother of gin, on world gin day, we salute you!
7 Dials Gin, created by us here in the heart of Soho at the LGC, this is a classic London Dry gin. Using just 7 botanical it has a classic dominant Juniper lead , a smooth mouthfeel and delicate sweet citrus notes of clementine and almond which gives a rounded, creamy mouth feel. A true classic London Gin, created in Soho. As a gin and tonic, garnished with an olive, a classic London Dry follow on.
And the third player but no gooseberry is Dorothy Parker: The lady herself was a singular sensation, a New Yorker at heart and an iconic enthusiast of gin. The Brooklyn Distilling company have honoured her with this classic, complex American Gin – a blend of traditional and contemporary botanicals including juniper and elderberries, citrus, cinnamon, and hibiscus. This gin is mysterious as the distillers don’t give much away, we garnish with blueberry and orange peel, it’s busy, complex but ultimately satisfying, a bit like the lady herself, so we sign off with the words of Dorothy Parker:
“I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.”