A Muddled Thought

Released in June by Pernod-Ricard, the company behind Beefeater London Dry Gin, Beefeater 24, and Plymouth, Beefeater Summer is the 2nd ever variation of the centuries old Beefeater recipe.

After Master Distiller, Desmond Payne released Beefeater 24 in 2009 and built on the original Beefeater recipe with the additions of botanicals such as grapefruit peels, and Japanese Sencha Tea.

Desmond went back to the drawing board or in this case the still and took the original Beefeater recipe, added the botanicals of elderflower, hibiscus and black currant which he then bottles at eighty proof for a softer finish than that of the ninety proof Beefeater London Dry

Beefeater Summer Edition starts off with soft floral notes, and is expected with the lower proof, is less forward than traditional Beefeater London Dry. Once you get past these introductory floral notes, you’re greeted with touches of sweet orange, subtle seductive juniper, followed up by just barely there spice that ends in a slightly fruity finish.

Beefeater Summer Edition has a slightly limited run, so if you see on the shelves of your local liquor store, grab it before it’s gone.

West 12th Fizz

Beefeater Summer 2oz
1oz simple
1/2 oz Lemon
1/2 Campari
2 Dashes The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters
Eggwhite
Top with Club Soda

West 12th Fizz. A combination of Beefeater Summer Edition, Campari, Aromatic Bitters, Eggwhite topped with Club Soda.

Twisted Point of View

1 ¾ oz beef summer
¾ oz Gran Centenario Rosangel
3 Dashes Yellow Chartreuse
¾ oz Rosemary Anise Syrup
Tbsp Dolin Blanc Vermouth

Twisted Point of View. A combination of Beefeater Summer Edition, Gran Centenario Rosangel Tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, Dolin Blanc Vermouth and Rosemary Anise Syrup.

I had the pleasure of first tasting Greylock Gin, during the summer of 2009 at a visit to PDT in New York’s East Village. The first time I tasted it, I knew I was tasting something truly unique in the gin category.

After speaking with Chris Weld, the master distiller and owner of Berkshire Mountain Distilleries( otherwise known as BMD) he gave me the short but quaint story of how Berkshire Mountain Distillery came to be. The origins of which can be traced back to a nearly completed 8th grade project in which young Chris was attempting to build a working model of a still. Something he would have accomplished, had his mom not stopped him after finding out it was a bit of a federal offense.

Years later Chris went on to become a emergency room physician’s assistant and migrated from New England to the West Coast, a place he called home with his wife up until several years ago when the Weld family decided to move back to New England. During the search for a new home, they came across an old, slightly neglected apple farm that housed about 400-500 apple trees. After restoring the farm back to its original glory, the Welds had the idea of opening a distillery. Initially Chris had planned to create an apple brandy, until the realization that one cannot survive on apple brandy alone. This brings us to the year 2007 when Berkshire Mountain Distilleries came to be. With some assistance from fellow distillers who advised Chris, he began distilling Ragged Mountain Rum, Ice Glen Vodka and Berkshire’s first gin, Greylock, which was followed roughly a year later with Ethereal Release One.

During our conversation, Chris mentioned that Berkshire will be releasing both a corn whiskey and a bourbon later this year. For now we’ll be taking a look at both of Berkshire’s Gin offerings.

With Greylock Chris had a gin meant to be sipped on its own or to be used in classic cocktails such as a Gin and Tonic, Martini or Gimlet A year or so later, came Ethereal, a limited edition bottling whose botanicals change slightly with each new bottling and is targeted directly at the mixology community.

As with all of Berkshire Distilleries Spirits, both Greylock and Ethereal start off with natural spring water located on the same land as the distillery itself and is fed from a nearby mountain range.

This natural spring water along with botanicals including juniper, coriander, angelica, orris, cinnamon, orange peel and licorice give life to Greylock Gin a gin that upon that first introductory sip, greets you with notes of citrus teasing the forefront of your palate before leading the way into hints of vanilla, butterscotch(yep you heard that right), the occasional hint of orange, coriander and black pepper. Greylock finishes with hints of spice before leaving a final soft citrus sensation on your palate.

Taking the botanicals used in Greylock, Chris adds lemon, cubeb root, pepper, spearmint, nutmeg, rose hips and elderberry to produce the limited release Ethereal. A recipe that changes with each release, during our conversation Chris mentioned the third release of Ethereal will feature grapefruit.

The combination of these new botanicals to Greylock’s formula leads to a gin that opens with nutmeg, very forward notes of orange, fresh grass, and crème de menthe. Light touches of lavender and nuances of sweet rye and harvest spice make an appearance before the spirit finishes with touches of floral, additional subtle characters of crème de menthe and a final caresses of your palate by smooth hints of vanilla.

A Short Journey
1 ¾ oz Greylock Gin
Bar Spoon Orange Marmalade
½ oz Vanilla Syrup
¾ oz Sombra Mezcal
2 Dashes West Indian Orange Bitters

A Short Journey. A combination of Greylock Gin, Sombra Mezcal, Orange Marmalade, Vanilla Syrup, and West Indian Orange Bitters.

The Gineva Convention
1 oz Greylock Gin
1 oz Bols Genever
¾ oz Maraschino
¾ oz Green Charteuse
¾ oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 Dashes West Indian Orange Bitters

The Gineva Convention. A combination of Greylock Gin, Bols Genever, Maraska Maraschino Liqueur,Green Chartreuse, Cinnamon Syrup, and West Indian Orange Bitters.

Breaking The Barrier
1 ¾ oz Ethereal Gin
Bar spoon Vieux Carré Absinthe
Muddled Peppercorns
½ oz Crème Y’vette
½ oz Orange Juice
2 Dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Breaking the Barrier. A combination of Ethereal Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe, Muddled Peppercorns, Creme Y'vette, Orange Juice and Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters.

Just Passing Through

1 ½ oz Ethereal Gin
½ oz Lillet Rouge
½ oz Allspice
½ oz Demerara Syrup
2 Dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters

Just Passing Through. A combination of Ethereal Gin, Lillet Rouge, Allspice Dram, Demerara Syrup and The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters.

As luck would have it, after covering all things Gin, here at A Muddled Thought for the past several weeks, we’ve had some time to take a look at another gin or two. As mentioned in our coverage of Old Tom, a sweeter styled gin, there are currently only two Old Tom offerings available in today’s market. Ransom, hailing from Ransom Distilleries of Oregon and Hayman’s Old Tom imported into the US by Haus Alpenz, the same people that helped make Batavia Arrack, and Crème De Violette available to use in today’s cocktails.

One of, if not the first Old Tom style Gin available, Hayman’s a gin that originates circa 1820 via James Burroughs; Mr. Burroughs also happens to be the same man behind Beefeater London Dry. While the Beefeater brand was sold off in 1987, the Hayman family led by Chairman and James Burroughs’s great grandson Chris Hayman retained partial ownership of the business. Based on a family recipe, Chris continues to oversee production of this magnificent spirit that has influenced imbibing from past into the present and thanks to Haus Alpenz will continue being part of our spirits culture far into the future.

Using a column still along with botanicals that include juniper berries, coriander seed, angelica root, along with orange and lemon peels among others, leads to the end result of a gin that grabs you from start to finish.

From that first second of that first taste, Hayman’s throws it all at you. A sweet seductive opening with hints of juniper waltz across your palate with nuances of sweetness. These notes of sweet lead into the minute touches of pepper, coriander, sweet orange and teases of cinnamon. As that last drop hits your palate you’re left with hints of vanilla, and perfectly defined touches of citrus.

A Bit of Time
1 ½ Haymans Old Tom Gin
1 oz DH Krahn Gin
Barspoon Allspice Dram
½ Cinnamon Syrup
½ Lime Juice
2 Dashes of The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters

A Bit of Time. A combination of Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, DH Krahn Gin, Allspice Dram, Cinnamon Syrup, Lime Juice and The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters.

Bungalo Bay
1 ½ oz Haymans Old
½ oz Batavia Arrack
½ oz Vanilla Syrup
Peach Bitters
Eggwhite
Sprinkle Cinnamon on Top

Bungalo Bay. A combination of Haymans Old Tom Gin, Batavia Arrack, Vanilla Syrup, Peach Bitters, and Eggwhite.

After taking a look at Tanqueray London Dry Gin a few weeks ago, we now come to Tanquerays two younger siblings. Tanqueray Ten and Tanqueray Rangpur.

These two gins couldn’t be more different than one another.
Tanqueray Ten (or Tanq 10) is created by distilling handpicked fresh fruits such as white grapefruits limes and oranges and is distilled in small batches. In addition to fresh grapefruit and oranges, additional botanicals include juniper berries and coriander seeds.

This results in a gin that starts off with slightly sweet notes and a creamy feel on the mouth that are married with tones of juniper, and subtle hints of mint. Tanqueray Ten ends with a floral and peppery finish.

On the other side of the gin spectrum, sits Tanqueray Rangpur. Launched in 2007, the center of this spirits flavors stems from the Rangpur lime. While little has been shared about the distillation process, the rare Rangpur lime joins other botanicals such as juniper berries, coriander, bay leaves and ginger to create a spirit that opens with light notes of juniper and sharply defined lime leading to a mellow and soothing finish.

The Whiz Bang

1 ¾ oz Tanqueray Ten Gin
Eggwhite
2 Dashes Fernet Branca
½ oz Batavia Arrack
½ Grapefruit Juice
¼ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Chai Demerara
2 Dashes of Grapefruit Bitters

The Whiz Bang. A combination of Tanqueray Ten, Fernet Branca, Eggwhite, Grapefruit Juice, Chai Demerara Syrup and Grapefruit Bitters.

Jumping the Fence
1 ¾ oz Tanqueray 10
½ oz Crème De Cacao
½ oz Yellow Chartreuse
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Lemon Juice

Jumping the Fence. A combination of Tanqueray Ten, Creme De Cacao, Yellow Chartreuse, Simple Syrup and Lemon Juice.

The Sly Bandit
1 1/2 oz Tanqueray Rangpur
½ oz Navan Vanilla Liquor
½ oz Averna
½ oz Lime Juice
2 Dashes Peach Bitters

The Sly Bandit. A combination of Tanqueray Rangpur, Navan Vanilla Liqueur, Averna, Lime Juice and Peach Bitters.

“Tin-Tin”
1 ½ oz Tanqueray Rangpur Gin
¼ oz Veev Acai Liquor
¼ oz Aperol
1 Orange Slice
Cucumber
¼ Simple Syrup
Muddle the Orange Slice, Cucumber Slice and ¼ oz Simple Together
Add rest of ingredients, shake with ice.
Serve Up in Coupe.

“Outside Rangoon”

2 oz Tanqueray Rangpur Gin
3-5 Mint Leaves
1 oz Simple Syrup
Barspoon of Tanteo Jalapeno Tequila
¼ oz Lime Juice
Muddle Mint Leaves and Simple Syrup
Add rest of ingredients, shake with ice.

Serve up In Coupe.

Moving along from yesterday’s look at American-made Seneca Drums we move back across the world to France with a look at the G’vine family of gins.
The G’vine family of gins includes to vastly different offerings, known as Floraison and Nouaison.

Both offerings start with a neutral grape spirit, instead of the more traditional neutral grain based spirit. Creating this base spirit is done by taking Ugni Blanc grapes that have been turned into wine and then and passing them through a column still a total of four times.

At this point the neutral grape spirit is ready to be used to create the gins known as Floraison and Nouaison.

While both gins are created using nine of the same botanicals which include juniper berries, green cardamon, lime, nutmeg, liquorice, ginger root, and cassia bark its this 10th botanical that is truly responsibly for the uniqueness of each spirit.

With Floraison , this 10th botanical is the incredibly rare green grape flower. With a time of only a few days during June of which this flower blossoms, G’vine only has a small window to harvest these flowers.

Prior to blossoming, this green grape flower is hand picked and macerated into neutral grape spirit for several days in order to capture the essence and full character of these flowers. After maceration is complete, this liquid is then distilled in copper pot stills. While this is occurring the other nine botanicals are being distilled separately and then are combined with the flower infused spirit for one final distillation to create Floraison.

The end result a spirit that welcomes the palate upon that first sip with hints of cocoa, mint, that segues into cleanly defined notes of fresh grass and burnt orange with occasional touches of celery that sneak in before bidding you farewell via light touches of smoke and orange marmalade.

With Nouaison the 10th botantical is still the seductively elegant green grape flower, however this time the grape has begun to blossom and give birth to a small green berry. This minor difference between what stage the grape is picked out, leads to the difference between the two gins.

This difference shows itself in Nouaison’s taste which grabs you right away with touches of pepper and lemon that lead into hints of burnt and candied oranges, cinnamon, and some touches of heat and barley that finishes with additional hints of pepper and citrus.

Middle of the Pond
1 1/2 oz G’ Vine Nouaison Gin
1 oz Sazerac Rye
½ oz Cinnamon Syrup
Barspoon Mathilde Peach Liqueur
2 dashes Regans Orange Bitters
Garnish with Lemon Zest

Middle of the Pond. A combination of 1 1/2 oz G' Vine Nouaison Gin, Sazerac Rye, Cinnamon Syrup, Mathilde Peach Liqueur, and Regans Orange Bitters.

The Twisted Story
2 oz G’Vine Nouaison Gin
½ Green Chartreuse
½ Cinnamon Syrup
½ oz Lemon Juice
1oz Lillet Blanc
Burnt Orange Zest

The Twisted Story. G'Vine Nouaison, Green Chartreuse, Cinnamon Syrup, Lillet Blanc, and Lemon Juice.

With a flick of the Wrist
1 ¾ oz G’Vine Floraison Gin
½ Aperol
½ oz Crème De Cacao
2 Dash Mole Bitters
Egg White

With a Flick of the Wrist. A combination of Floraison Gin, Aperol, Creme De Cacao, Mole Bitters and Eggwhite.

Crossing the Barrier

1 ¾ oz G’ Vine Floraison
½ oz Solerno
½ oz Los Amantes Mezcal
½ oz Batavia Arrack
½ Lemon Juice
Burnt Orange Zest

Crossing the Barrier. A combination of G’ Vine Floraison, Solerno, Los Amantes Mezcal, Batavia Arrack, and Lemon Juice.

Our next gin hails from a distillery located in Upstate New York, known as the Finger Lakes Distillery, taken its namesake from the very area it calls home, specifically the Finger Lakes Region.

Formed in 2007 when Brian McKenzie, and Thomas Earl McKenzie(no relation) met at a distillers conference. Brian, with a background in finance, was looking to open a business in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, and connected with Thomas who has a long history of consulting with distilleries, and as a wine maker. Out of this chance meeting, Finger Lakes Distillery was born.

The Last Days of Summer. A combination of Seneca Drums Gin, Green Chartreuse, Black Pepper Watermelon Syrup and Lemon Juice.

Finger Lakes Distillery creates all its spirits via a 300 gallon copper pot still that was created by the Holstein Company and flown in from Markdoff Germany. Finger Lakes Distillery tends to keep everything close to home, with the company run by Brian, his wife, Jennifer, Brian’s parents, several cousins and Thomas.

Starting with a neutral grape alcohol base, that’s blended with some grain neutral spirit. Finger Lakes then macerates its botanicals during the first distillation. During a second distillation the botanicals are soaked directly in the base spirit.
Using a series of botanicals including juniper , cardamom, coriander, citrus, fresh cucumber, black pepper, and licorice results in a spirit, that introduces itself with notes of floral and sweetness on the nose. These notes are balanced just right so as to tempt and stir the desire to see what the spirit feels like whence it meets with your palate.

When you finally indulge in tasting this homegrown gin, you’re hit with notes of lemon, black pepper, candied ginger and coriander that ends with an refreshing twist of lime.

With Seneca Drums Gin, the Mckenzies have managed to create something a bit different than a standard dry gin. The spirit manages to balance occasional sweet notes with hints of dryness without introducing an overpowering presence of juniper. Any gin lover looking to experience something truly different should seek Seneca Drums out as they’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The Last Days of Summer
1 ¾ Seneca Drums Gin
½ oz Green Chartreuse
½ Lemon Juice
¾ Black Pepper Watermelon Syrup
Garnish with Lemon Slice and if available watermelon that’s been sprinkled with black pepper presented on toothpick.

Three Outta Three

Milagro Blanco 1 3/4
Milagro Anejo 3/4 oz
Seneca Drums Gin 1 oz
1/2oz Lime Juice
1 Mole Bitter
2 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters
2 Barspoons Agave Nectar

Three Outta Three. A combination of Seneca Drums Gin, Milagro Anejo and Blanco Tequilas, Mole and Grapefruit Bitters, Agave Nectar.and Grapefruit Juice.

Released in 2006 by Philadelphia Distilling and named to pay homage to the revolutionary soldiers who fought for this country, Bluecoat Gin continues to keep close to home by using botanicals such as organic juniper berries, and American citrus peels including sweet oranges and lemons. Other than these few botanicals, the remainder of the ingredients used to bring Bluecoat to life remain a secret to all except Master Distiller Robert Cassell.

Robert works his magic creating Bluecoat by a means of a ten-hour distillation process that starts with a slow heating of the pot still to enable Robert to slowly separate the heads and tails (the impurities) and leave the heart of the spirit. Once this process has been completed, the remaining spirit is bottled with triple filtered water to bring it down to 94 proof (or 47%ABV) and is filtered and tasted before Robert gives the go-ahead to begin bottling.

Bluecoat is a gin that starts off very soft and floral. This softness leads the way into notes of lemon, and hints of black pepper that tag along with each sip. Blue coat finishes with a touch of heat and sweetness.

A very light and refreshing gin that’s soft enough for one to sip on its own with a rock of ice.

Philisski
1 ¾ Bluecoat
¾ oz Aperol
¾ North Shore Aquavit
½ oz Simple Syrup
Grapefruit Bitters
Shake, Serve in Collins filled with Ice
Top with Club Soda

Philisski. A combination of Blue Coat Gin, North Shore Aquavit, Simple Syrup, and Grapefruit Bitters. Top with Club Soda.

Cool Revolution
2 oz Blue Coat
¼ oz Yellow Chartreuse
½ Lemon Juice
½ Simple Syrup
Egg White
Top with Mint Leaf

Cool Revolution. A combination of Blue Coat Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Simple Syrup, Lemon Juice and Eggwhite

Coming in at higher proof than most gins you’ll normally come across on the back bar of your favorite speakeasy or local spirit vendor, Junipero Gin rings in at a hefty 98.6 proof or in another words 49.3% alcohol.

Hailing from Anchor Distilling, the same company responsible for Old Poterero Rye and the infamous Anchor Steam Beer, very little information is currently shared regarding the background of Junipero Gin.

What is known is this; Anchor Distilling uses a minimum of twelve botanicals, and uses the “soaking” method to infuse the flavors of these secret botanicals into the spirit, billed as a Dry or Distilled Dry Gin.

As the master distiller, Fritz Maytag currently refuses to share any information regarding any of these twelve botanicals, we can only taste the spirit and guess what he must use to create Junipero.

This secretive spirit starts out with a nose filled with juniper, and spice. As you begin to introduce Juniper to your palate, you hit with notes of lemon, orange zest, occasional flavors of celery, that mellows to introduce a flavor similar to a fresh baked bread or a dough that finishes with an almost sweet white wine like finale.

Sunset over the Bay
1 ¾ oz Junipero Gin
½ oz Orange Juice
¾ Lillet Blanc
2 Dashes Regans Orange Bitters
Barspoon Orange Marmalade
Bar Spoon Vieux Carre Absinthe

Sunset over the Bay. A combination of Junipero Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe, Lillet Blanc, Orange Marmalade, Orange Juice and Regan's Orange Bitters.

Jumping from our last gin, Port of Barcelona hailing from Spain we skip over to Scotland and Hendricks Gin. Hendricks, a gin instantly associated with cucumbers by most gin drinkers. But that Hendricks, she’s a gin of so many more personalities. This can be attributed to the process used to birth this wonderous spirit. By taking a step outside the box that many distillers live in, and using a process that combines two different styles of distillation, the end result is a spirit with many different notes.

Before we get to all that, let’s take a quick look at what botanicals go into Hendricks. Hendricks infuses about thirteen different botanicals into its base spirit. Outside of the usual juniper berry, citrus peels, coriander, angelica and orris roots, Hendricks introduces elderflower, meadowsweet, and caraway to its neutral spirit during the distillation process. Oh and what a distillation process it is.

Unlike most other gins, Hendricks ’starts off by a vapor based distillation process by means of a Carter Head Still for one of its two base spirits. In this particular style of still, the botanicals are placed in a basket and meet the rising vapors of the spirit originate from the base of the still. This is but one part of the Hendricks Process. The second step of the process that leads to Hendricks is taking these same botanicals and steeping them again and the base spirit. These two separate distillations are combined or married together before the final ingredients of rose petal and cucumbers are added via an infusion method to create the spirit we all know as Hendricks Gin.

With a process like this, Hendricks falls under a category all its own and definitely doesn’t disappoint when it meets the palate. As you take that first sip, Hendricks grabs the taste buds he moment this elegant gin hits your lips. Layers of delicate sweetness peel away to reveal hints of soothing sweet orange, nuances of tangerine and the occasional touch of cucumber that leads the way into a finish brimming with softness yet at the same time spice.

Ease into It…
1 ¾ oz Hendricks
¾ Black pepper Watermelon Syrup
½ Navan Vanilla Liqueur
½ oz Lemon Juice
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Ease into It… A combination of Hendricks Gin, Navan Vanilla Liqueur, Black Pepper Watermelon Syrup, Lemon Juice and Angostura Bitters.

Petite and Deadly
1 ¾ oz Hendricks
¾ oz Laird’s Bonded Applejack
1oz Hudson Apple Vodka
¾ oz Apple Cinnamon Syrup
Barspoon Yellow Chartreuse
2 Dashes The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters

Petite and Deadly. A combination of Hendricks Gin, Laird’s Bonded Applejack, Hudson Apple Vodka, Apple Cinnamon Syrup, Yellow Chartreuse and The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters.

A gin born of absinthe. Or so goes the story of Port of Barcelona Gin. The second product of the Esmeralda Distillery, which up until the release of Port of Barcelona only produced Obsello Absinthe Verte.

As previously written about during our look at Obsello Absinthe, the distillery itself grew out of a passion project that former art teacher, Bryan Alex got interested in as a high school student, that of the mysteries and creation behind Absinthe.

After successfully launching Obsello Absinthe within the United States, Spain and the United States, Bryan started working on a formula of botanicals for a gin.

Using that the same creativity that he applied to Obsello Absinthe, Bryan created his own take on gin. Bryan’s unique spin on that juniper based spirit we all know and love includes the following botanticals such as iris flower root, star anise(yes you read that correct), coriander seeds, orange peels, ginger root, hazelnuts, and sweet almonds to name but a few.

All these botanicals work together to create a gin that’s anything but standard.
With that first sip, you’re hit with notes of vanilla, that’s followed up by nuances of anise and lavender. And in a change of pace of other gins, the juniper notes, play with your palate from behind the curtain of the other flavors. Finishes with notes of lime and black pepper.

Perplexing Reflection
2oz Port of Barcelona
½ oz Crème De Violette
½ oz Cinnamon Syrup
½ oz Lime Juice
2 Dashes Regans Orange Bitters

Perplexing Reflection. A combination of Port of Barcelona Gin, Creme De Violette, Cinnamon Syrup, Lime Juice and Regans Orange Bitters.