Pub Snippets..

THE GIN RENAISSANCE - A Number of New and Interesting Premium Gins Reinvigorate

This Classic Spirit

Williams-Sonoma Taste - Holiday 2001

By Jeffery Lindemuth

Whenever a young Wall Street exec would stroll into my bar and blurt, "Dry martini, extra olives," I took great pleasure in crafting him an icy gin cocktail, perhaps with Bombay Sapphire and a touch of Noilly Prat. Inevitably, as the piney aroma caught nose, he would wince. "What the hell is this? Gin?" I knew he wanted vodka; they all do. It was just a wry way of saying that gin, not vodka, is the rule for a real martini. And it left me one tasty, unwanted martini.

Italian monks were likely the first to infuse spirits with the medicinal juniper in the 12th century. Juniper-infused alcohol was also used to treat the plague n the 14th century. A Dutch doctor, Frenciscus Sylvius, is credited with creating the recipe for modern gin, in 1650, to cure kidney and stomach disorders. There is evidence that the Dutch were drinking gin even earlier that that, and the French now claim they were producing it in 1560.

But it was the English who perfected and popularized London dry gin, the ancestor of modern gin. Its lighter flavor, many botanicals, and mixability gave it more mass appeal that its maltier, fuller-bodied Dutch predecessor. Dry gin soon became the scourge of London, whose inhabitants consumed 11 million gallons in the year 1750 alone.Gin begins as nothing more than vapid vodka. Distillation, steaming, steeping, or infusion adds natural flavors to the neutral spirit. Cardamom, orris root, cassis bark, almond powder, licorice, and cubeb berries all appear in one gin or another, along with the crux of the stuff - juniper.

From working-class Londoners in the 1700s, to British colonialists in the 1920s, and now discerning drinkers, gin perseveres. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, gin sales rose by 0.5 percent from 1999 to 2000. More importantly, premium gin sales were up about 10 percent.Bombay Sapphire, introduced in 1988, a somewhat spicier and pricier rendition of Bombay, was among the first premium gins; it remains a benchmark. Tanqueray recently followed with their exceptional Tanqueray No. Ten (94.6 proof, $30), a small-batch-distilled gin with fresh whole-fruit botanicals. It balances restrained juniper, gentle citrus, and earthy hints of cardamom.

A liberal recipe of juniper and botanicals makes gin prone to new interpretations from around the globe. Jim Bendis's tiny Bendistillery in Bend, Oregon, near the world's largest juniper forest, makes a simple, fresh-tasting Cascade Mountain Gin (95 proof, $25), infused only with hand-picked wild juniper berries and occasionally Cascade hops. "We go back to gin's roots," says Bendis. "These big companies like to talk about how old their recipes are. We distill grain and infuse it with real juniper. It's no so many drops of this ingredient or that."

Hendrick's Gin (88 proof, $30), with a cooling infusion of rose petals and cucumber, and Cadenhead's Old Raj (110 proof, $50), amazingly smooth and tinged yellow with saffron, are both distinctive gins from Scotland.Audrey Saunders, beverage director at The Tonic in New York City, says, "Gins are more flavorful. Their varying levels of intensity are incredible. Vodka is so one-dimensional. A soft, mild gin will add balance and complexity."

Another good introductory gin is Mercury (94 proof, $30), slightly sweet with gentle floral notes and a moderate dose of juniper. Its Michael-Graves-gone-bad blue bottle goes with its subtle, sexy flavor. Van Gogh (94 proof, $30), from Holland, has an aroma of lime and citrus zest - great for a gimlet or with tonic.If you love briny olive flavor in your martinis, Dirty Olive Gin (70 proof, $22) is infused with Andalusian olives.

It's splendid in a bloody Mary.There's an exciting new gin for everyone. Ask me for a martini and I'll never answer. "Gin or vodka?" but rather, "Which gin?"