A Muddled Thought

This past May a rare occurrence in the spirit world took place at New York’s Campbell Apartments when extremely rare vintages of Cherry Heering, the cherry liqueur made famous being a component of the Blood and Sand and Singapore Sling Cocktails were opened and tasted. These vintages included a bottle remaining from 1890 and 1950. And were opened and compared to a modern day offering.

Including in the individuals selected to taste these vintages were, Jackson Cannon, of Boston’s Eastern Standard; Jörgen Tilander, owner of the Cherry Heering® liqueur ,Akiko Katayama, an established international writer and former Iron Chef judge and Tony Abu Ganim, The Modern Mixologist.

After comparing the two vintages along side the the present day offering of Cherry Heering, the tasting panel’s favorite was the 1890 vintage. Tony Abu Ganim, noted that the additional time the spirit spent in the bottle allowed new flavors of cigar and cocoa to develop.

Will Cherry Heering have another one of these vintage tasting events? Only time will..

A Blood and Sand Cocktail made with the Vintage Cherry Heering. The other ingredients include equal parts of scotch, orange juice and vermouth.

So now we come to Genever, and what better offering to look at then Bols Genever, one of the first Genevers to be mass-produced.

The story of Bols can be traced back to 1575 when the Bols family, at this time known as “Bulsius” arrived in Amsterdam, and started distilling and selling liqueurs. After the Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602, Bols became one of the main suppliers to its inner circle. Via this method, sailors and navy men incidentally spread the gospel of Genever. This leads us until 1664, at which time Bols began distilling Genever after receiving licensing to begin the distillation of spirits in 1646.

Flashing forward a few hundred years to the 1880’s, and moving across the the world to the United States, genever was outselling gin at a ratio of 6:1. Somehow between this time period and up until a few years ago, the popularity of Genever seemed to wane within bars and the spirits industry.

After the category of Genever received “protected status”(meaning that Genever can now only be made in the Netherlands)from the European Union in 2008, Bols began a massive re-launch

So what’s the process behind the creation of Genever?

Bols starts with small batches of distillate malt wine that are distilled in copper pot stills from three different mash types: rye, corn and wheat(known as Moutwijn). Once these different mash types are distilled via a pot still, the they are then moved to a continuous still and distilled up to three more times with the end result being a spirit that runs between between 46% and 48% ABV.

During the time that the spirits passes through the continuous still, the Bols Master Distiller cuts out all but the hearts of the distillate. This remaining malt wine(known as bestnat) is rested in stainless steel containers for up to several weeks. At this point, Bols also begins to infuse botanticals such as juniper, angelica, ginger and coriander into a neutral (grain-based) spirit and distills this via a pot still method. Once distilled it is married(or blended) with the rested malt wine.

At this point, the spirit known as Bols Genever is complete. A spirit that exposes that barley used in it’s creation right away, that hen mellows out into notes of cinnamon, and perfectly defined orange zest, that occasionally shares the spotlight with touches of yeast. All these flavors lead up to an impressive and soothing menthol finish.

As shown below, the flavors within Bols Genever work great in cocktails.

Around the Globe

2 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Laphroiag
½ oz Chai Demera Syrup
1/2 Allspice Dram
½ oz Lemon Juice
2 Dashes Regans Orange Bitters

Garnish with Lemon Zest
Shake with Serve
Serve in Double Old Fashioned.

Around the Globe. A combination of Bols Genever, Laphroiag, Allspice Dram, Lemon Juice and Regans Orange Bitters.

Bay Area Breakfast
1 ½ Genever
½ oz Fernet Branca
½ oz Averna
¾ oz Simple Syrup
2 Dashes Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters
1 Dash Regans Orange Bitters
Eggwhite
Dry Shake. Then Shake with Ice
Serve up in Coupe.

Here are a few more Bols Genever Recipes, courtesy of Katie Darling, Bols Genever Brand Ambassador:

The Holland Razor Blade

2 oz Bols Genever

3/4 oz Simple syrup
3/4 oz Lemon juice
Shake, strain, coupe
Dash Cayenne pepper sprinkled on top


The Dutch Honey-
Created by Erik Castro-San Francisco
2 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz yellow chartreuse
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

1/4 oz Honey Syrup
Dash Angostura


On one big rock, Double rocks glass

The Collins


2 oz Bols Genever

1 oz of Lemon juice

1/2 Demerara Syrup

Top with soda


Shake everything, in collins glass, top with soda, garnish lemon wedge.

The Old Old Fashioned
2 oz Bols Genever
1.5 Barspoons muscovado sugar
3-4 dashes Jerry Thomas own decanter bitters( Bitter truth)
Splash simple(If needed)
One large cube of ice and an Orange twist


After spending the past week looking at some of the bigger names in Gin, we now come to Pacific Distilleries. Pacific, is a small family owned distillery that puts out just two products, Pacifique Absinthe and Voyager. With only two products both better damn good. As written about last year, Pacifique’s absinthe blew us away. So how’s their Voyager gin fare?

As soon as I opened the bottle and took a whiff, I was hit with elegant aromas of mild juniper, hints of sweetness akin to a chai tea.

Voyager’s, a balanced yet playful gin that comes to life with a barrage of flavors. It opens up right away with flavors of juniper, hints of cinnamon and basil and the odd yet welcomed occasional undertone of a sweetened carrot.

As you delve deeper into the spirit, characters of black licorice show themselves before leading into a a finish incorporating touches of white pepper and hints of citrus.

Just as Marc Bernhard, Master Distiller of Pacific Distilleries managed to create a remarkable representation of absinthe in Pacifique, he scores another
home run with Voyager gin. Not you’re a typical American Dry Gin but in this case not a bad thing. A spirit that never stops teasing with flavors.

Here are a few new cocktails using Voyager Gin and playing off its flavors a bit.

Close to the Heart
1 ½ oz Voyager
½ Carpano Antica
½ oz Sombra Mezcal
½ oz Cinnamon Syrup
½ oz Lemon Juice
1 Dash Rhubarb Bitters
Dash of Pacifique Absinthe
Shake with Ice
Serve up
Garnish with Lemon Twist

Close to the Heart. A combination of Voyager, Carpano Antica, Sombra Mezcal, Pacifique Absinthe, Cinnamon Syrup, and Rhubarb.

Northern Harvest
1 oz Voyager
1 oz Laird’s Bonded Applejack
½ oz Benedectine
2 Bar spoons Maple Syrup
2 Dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
Shake with Ice
Serve in Double Old Fashioned with one large rock
Twist Lemon Peel over drink and Discard.

Northern Harvest. A combination of Voyager Gin, Laird's Applejack, Benedictine, Maple Syrup and Regan's Orange Bitters.

The one definite thing that can always be said about Beefeater London Dry Gin is that the recipe has stayed the same since it was first distilled circa 1870. The job of the current master distiller, Desmond Payne is to make sure this continues to be as it has been for the past hundred plus years, from individual selecting each botanical to overseeing the distillation of batch.

In 2008, Desmond was given the ability to formulate his own recipe for a new separate Beefeater bottling. Dubbed Beefeater 24, Desmond took the classic Beefeater recipe and added just the right amount of new ingredients to it. Never being one to mess with the classics, Desmond started with the original recipe(see here) and then decided to put his own spin in the form of a few additional botanicals.

According to Desmond, the story starts with tea. After spending time in Japan and experiencing several tea based cocktails, it hit Desmond. The key to this new yet Beefeater offering was tea. At first he tried Assam and Darjeeling Teas, but found them both too strong and overpowering. He then started thinking of something that had more fragrance but still managed to be light enough to not overpower the rest of the components of the gin.

This led Desmond to try Japanese Sencha Tea. After some tweaking to the proportions of the other botanicals, this seemed to be the key to this new product, along with the final tea choice of Sencha Tea, Desmond added some new notes of citrus in the form of Grapefruit. After applying some further adjustments to the original citrus botanicals, Desmond had his final product, and Beefeater 24 was born.

With aromas of juniper and sweetness on the nose, the spirit beckons one to taste. Once put to the palate, characters of black pepper are mellowed by hints of orange that leads the way into delicate notes of green tea, and soft playful characters of dough that finishes with additional hints of citrus.

With softer notes that most dry gins, and those additional botanicals of grapefruit and tea, Beefeater 24 is a gin meant for those people who swear they hate gin. One taste should be enough to open up their eyes to a whole new juniper filled world. This softness also plays well outside some of the more traditional cocktail offerings gin is usually associated with as shown below in these two new cocktails.

Paddington’s Playdate
2 oz Beefeater 24
½ oz Barenjager Honey Liqueur
½ Dolin Dry Vermouth
½ oz Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish with orange peel or zest

Paddington's Playdate. A combination of Beefeater 24, Barenjager Honey Liqueur, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Orange Juice and Angostura Bitters.

A Tini Tipple of Tea
1 oz Lapsang Souchong Infused Pama Pomegranate Liquor
1 ¾ oz of Beefeater 24 Gin
¾ oz Vanilla Syrup
½ oz Lime Juice
1 Dash Angostura Bitters
Shake with Ice
Garnish with Lemon Peel

A Combination of Lapsang Souchong Infused Pama Pomegranate Liquor, Beefeater 24, Vanilla Syrup, and Angostura BItters.

Bombay Sapphire, is the sibling to the original Bombay gin offering, that of Bombay London Dry Gin, which has been in production since 1761. With a name that hearkens back to the origins and popularity of the original Bombay in British run India, Bombay Sapphire gets its name from the blue sapphire-like bottle that it is sold in. The Sapphire offering of Bombay has been in production since 1987, and is created using a process known as vapor infusion, a process very few gin distillers use. Bombay creates its gin with the use of a Carter-head still, which utilizes a perforated copper basket to keep its botanicals separate and allows the spirit vapor to pass up through the still and remove any impurities before hitting the top of the still.

The process behind Bombay Sapphire results in a gin that starts off with inklings of juniper, that leads into a menagerie of kitchen spices including fennel, dill and coriander. As you take in the spirit you continue to be hit with a continuous barrage of earthy flavors, including hints of dough, fresh cut grass, and orange, oh lovely lovely orange. This spirit leaves with a finale of black licorice and celery.

The Well Traveled Gentleman
1 ¾ oz Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin
½ oz Fernet Branca
½ oz Carpano Antica
2 Dashes Celery Bitters
½ oz Demerara Syrup
Burnt Orange Zest

The Well Traveled Gentleman. A combination of Bombay Sapphire, Fernet Branca, Carpano Antica, Celery Bitters, Demerara Syrup.

Central And West

1 3/4 oz Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz OJ
1/2 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with Ice. Serve in Ice Filled Collins Glass.
Top with Club Soda

Central and West. A combination of Bombay Sapphire, Cynar, Dolin Sweet Vermouth, and Cinnamon Syrup.

After taking a look at Plymouth and Beefeater London Dry Gins in the past few days, we now come to Tanqueray London Dry.

In the same context of Beefeater , Tanqueray is one of the other parents of the dry gin movement, with production starting in 1830 in the Bloomsbury area of London, England. Charles continued to oversee production until his passing in 1868, at which time his son Charles Waugh Tanqueray inherited the distillery. Operations continued until circa World War II, when all but one still was destroyed during the German Blitz of England. The remaining still was dubbed “Old Tom” and relocated to Cameron Bridge, Scotland. While being produced in Scotland, Tanqueray is still considered a London Dry due to the single distillation process that is uses. It even shares some of the same botanicals that Beefeater uses such as coriander seed, and angelica root. Past these two botanicals and the use of Juniper all other botanicals used in Tanqueray are secret to the Master Distiller. While Beefeater shares both coriander seed and angelica root, the similarities stop there.

Whatever these secret botanicals are they form a dry gin that begins with soft notes of juniper, spicy characters of citrus zest that play that are caressed by hints of crème, and minute touches of orange throughout each sip with a spicy finish that completes with notes of pepper.

Here are a couple new cocktails that work well using the flavors that are present within each taste of Tanqueray London Dry.

Crossing the Plank
1 ¾ oz Tanqueray
1 oz Pimms No.1
½ oz Batavia Arrack
½ oz Cynar
¾ oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake with Ice. Serve up in Coupe.

Crossing the Plank. A combination of Tanqueray London Dry, Pimms, Batavia Arrack, Cynar, Cinnamon Syrup and Angostura Bitters.

The Scottish Two Step
2 oz Tanqueray London Dry Gin
½ oz Benedictine
½ oz Laphroiag 10 Year Islay Whisky
2 Dash Jerry Thomas Bitters
Stir. Serve up and Garnish with burnt orange zest.

The Scottish Two Step. A combination of Tanqueray London Dry, Benedictine, Laphroaig, and Jerry Thomas Bitters.

Beefeater London Dry, a pure classic gin that has nearly defined the category known as London Dry since its release in 1820.

How’d this come about? Let’s take a quick look through the history of Beefeater and see how it became what it is today.

1863-John Burroughs purchases John Taylor’s distillery in 1863. John Burroughs changes the name of the distillery to “James Burroughs, Distiller and Importer of Foreign Liquors”. During this time period most of what the distillery produced was cordials, and liqueurs, a good portion of these utilized brandy as a base.

Mid-1870s-Phylloxera caused by aphids, had made their way through most of France’s grape vineyards. This left most distillers without a base for a good portion of their products. After seeing the growing popularity of gin throughout most of Victorian England, James Burroughs seized the opportunity to create a new gin that he felt embodied the elegant and always classic style of England.

Starting with Juniper as the primary component, he combined this with coriander for spice, angelica root for dryness, almonds, lemon peel, along with Seville oranges to add a touch of bitterness, and the floral notes of orris root to balance everything out with a final ingredient of licorice for a nice smooth finish, thus a new gin was born.Named for the Guards at the Tower of London, James proclaimed this new gin Beefeater.

Flash forward to 1963, and Beefeater surpasses Plymouth as the world’s largest export gin. Three out of every four bottles of Gin sold during this time were Beefeater London Dry Gin.

This brings us to present day, and current Master Distiller, Desmond Payne continues to use the same recipe and process to give birth to Beefeater.

To this day the recipe and technique behind Beefeater remains unchanged. Starting with grain neutral spirit, and then cut with water, the botanicals are then stepped for a period of 24 hours before distillation. Once this is complete, the actual distillation process takes seven hours, with the removal of the heads and tails so only the heart is left remaining. The heart is then cut with de-mineralized water to reduce its strength before being bottled at 47% abv.

The result of this process is a gin that is soft, yet defined at the same time. While the juniper in Beefeater proudly bangs its chest and says look at me, you also have other flavors sharing the spotlight. Whether its hints of light spice, charismatic touches of orange, or the occasional touch of fresh hay, the flavors all manage to balance each other out. It’s no wonder why Beefeater’s been around for so long. It just works. It’s simple as that.

Here a few recipes both some classic and some new ones that play off the flavor profile of Beefeater London Dry Gin.

Modern Day Beefeater Recipes:

The Hand of Fate

2 oz Beefeater London Dry
½ oz Fernet Branca
Bar spoon Laphroaig 10 Year
½ oz Chai Demerara Syrup
½ oz Lemon Juice
2 Dash Whiskey Barrel Bitters
Spray Coupe with Absinthe

Agent 99
¾ oz Absolut Berri
1 ¼ oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
½ oz Maraska
½ oz Green Chartreuse
1-2 Dash Rhubarb Bitters
Stirred
Serve up with Lemon Zest
Top with club soda

Agent 99. A combination of Absolut Berri Acai, Beefeater Gin, Maraska, Green Chartreuse and Rhubarb Bitters.

Burroughs Millionaire
1 part Beefeater London Dry Gin
1 part Sloe gin
1 part Grand Marnier
1 part Apricot brandy
1 part Pomegranate juice
1 part Lime juice

Burroughs Billionaire. A combination of Beefeater London Dry Gin, Sloe Gin, Grand Marnier, Apricot Brandy and Pomengranate Juice.

Beefeater Martinez

1 Part Beefeater London Dry Gin
2 Parts Dubonnet
1 Dash Angostura bitters
1 Teaspoon Maraschino liqueur

Stir all ingredients with as much ice as you can fit into your mixing glass and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Beefeater Martinez. A combination of Beefeater London Dry, Dubonnet, Angostura Bitters and Maraschino Liqueur.

Hanky Panky

2 Parts Beefeater London Dry Gin
2 Parts Italian vermouth
2 Dashes Fernet Branca

Shake All ingredients over ice

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Squeeze A freshly cut orange peel on top

Hanky Panky. A combination of Beefeater London Dry Gin, Italian Vermouth, and Fernet Branca.

After taking a look yesterday at Plymouth and London Dry Gins, we’re now going take a look at Old Tom Gin, Genever and New Western Dry Gins.

Old Tom you say? Yep, there’s actually a style of Gin called Old Tom. So what’s the difference between Old Tom and the rest of the styles of Gin? For one thing, Old Tom comes across with a sweeter taste and profile than that of London or New Western Dry Gins. This is due to many manufacturers of Old Tom using sugar to sweeten the spirit. In his book, The Bartenders Gin Compendium, author Gary Regan theorizes that this sugar was originally used to cover up the taste of poorly produced spirits. Today’s version of Old Tom Gin still uses sugar to sweeten the spirit, but rather than using it to mask the flavor of the rest of the spirit, the distillers use this as but one component of their magnificent representations of a style that’s only been back in the market for the past year.

Gary’s book shows Old Tom Gin first appearing in the early 1800’s. Prior to this, no record of a sweetened gin has been found. Currently only two brands of Old Tom Gin are available on the market, Hayman’s Old Tom Gin and Ransom Old Tom Gin. We’ll take a look at one of these modern day Old Tom offerings in the coming weeks. For now need to move on to something known as Genever, and no I’m not speaking Dutch. Genever is also a style of gin, but only in the loosest of ways.
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While Genever, is part of the Gin family, it’s pretty far removed. The only traits that Genever has in common with gin are that is often a malt wine distillate married to neutral grain spirits, the use of juniper berries, and the use of botanicals in the recipe. Genever is in actuality a malt wine that’s based on rye, wheat and corn rather that solely a neutral grain spirit that’s redistilled with botanicals added Genever. So when you taste Genever for the first time, you might be taken back a bit as to decipher what you are tasting. You might be hit with flavors that remind you of a barley wine, a beer or in some cases a whisky of sorts. What you’re tasting is Genever, the original juniper based spirit. The process is basically this, distillers start with a malt wine (aka formerly mash that’s been distilled) and then combine or marry this to a neutral grain spirit (think a dry gin) that’s been distilled with botanicals including everyone’s favorite, juniper. This process gives life to that which is known as Genever.

So why haven’t I heard of Genever before?
Well for a while it wasn’t available in the United States to easily. Very few if any brands were being sold in the US, and unless you came across an older bottle sitting in a bar somewhere, you were probably unaware of its existence. This has slowly begun to change as brands such as Bols (with Bols Genever) and Anchor Steam (with Genevieve) have recently made a splash in both spirits resellers as well as cocktail bars around the country.

The history of Genever can be traced all the way back to 1269 when juniper-based spirits were used quite often in health-related tonics and medicines. Skipping ahead to the 1500’s, a juniper based brandy was quite popular in the 1550’s, this led into the early 1600’s when the Bols family begin distilling spirits, that in the mid 1650’s led to the beginnings of Bols Genever. From this time period until around 1870 or so when someone ordered a gin based cocktail, they expected Genever not London Dry or Old Tom style. It was around this time period that Plymouth and London Dry styled gin started to overtake Genever as the predominantly imbibed gin. From this time period up until the re-launch of of Bols Genever in 2008, Genever was mostly unheard of drinks within the US and a good portion of the modern world. Since that time, several other brands of Genever have come to assist in the category gaining additional popularity within the cocktail world.

Here’s a video of Anastasia Miller and Jared Brown discussing the history of Bols Genever a bit further.

And last but without a doubt not least, we move on to New Western Dry Gins, those spirits that don’t fall into any of the previous categories we’ve mentioned and those that distillers seem to having lots of fun with as they are continuously introducing new recipes and bottlings. So what does this labeling actually mean in terms of flavors? Well this means gins that play with the senses as you taste them, your brain expects something akin to a London Dry but your palate might end up with something that has hints of grapefruit such as DH Krahn, hints of tea as Beefeater 24 has or in a real twist of what gin is, hints of anise and vanilla as Port of Barcelona hides within each sip.

So how did this nomenclature of New Western Dry Gins come about? It seems to have evolved as a result of US and UK brands as well as distillers seeing the need for another style of gin, one that doesn’t adhere to the classic definition as much as traditional styles have. The only defining factor of a New Western Dry Gin is that it must contain juniper as its main botanical. Past that the distiller has free reign. And oh do these guys take advantage of that. You’ve got brands using anise seed, grapefruit, lemon, and even lime.
So what you end up with is variety, lots and lots of variety. Don’t get me wrong this is anything but a bad thing. This just grants your favorite barkeep the ability to continue to come up with new gin cocktails, because well, they always has a new gin to play with.

Other examples of New World Gins include, GVine, Greylock, Junipero,DH Krahn, and Tanqueray Rangpur,to just name but a few.

So after breaking down the different styles of gin floating about we now come to the fun part, starting tomorrow and continuing for the next month we’ll take a look at a different brand of gin each day, breakdown the botanicals, and the history behind each individual brand.

For now I’ll leave you with Anastasia Miller and Jared Brown discussing the birth of the Gin Cocktail.

This article, and the content that follows would not have been possible without the assistance of:
Shawn Kelly, Marissa Frisina, and Simon Ford of Pernod-Ricard, Anastasia Miller, Jared Brown
Gaz (Formerly Gary) Regan of Ardent Spirits and Author of The Bartenders Gin Compendium

Chris Weld of The Berkshire Mountain Distillery, Marc Bernhard of Pacific Distillery, Domaine Select, G’Vine, The People of Bulldog Gin, Brian McKenzie of Finger Lakes Distillery, The Philadelphia Distilling Company, David Hughes of DH Krahn Gin, Diageo, Bryan Alex,and Sonja Kassebaum of The North Shore Distillery.

Juniper Berries. The main botanical used in all gins.

With so many different gins on the market it’s hard knowing which one to buy and what the differences are between each one. After hearing the question come up so often within the cocktail universe we set out to break down some of the most popular styles and brands of gin available in the market today.

What’s Gin?
Let’s step back a few centuries to the 1300’s. Gin has it’s origins in juniper which was used to repel fleas that came from black rats, which were carriers of the plague or the “black death” during this period. Gin then made the rounds for several hundred years as a medicinal spirit, until it found its ways into the hands of English Soldiers during the late 1600’s . They were often given a dram , which became known as Dutch courage, and helped lend a hand to gin becoming the favored spirit throughout Great Britain. Gin was so favored by Great Britain, that during the beginning of the 1700’s and up until the 1750’s, about 25% of all structures were producing gin. Some attempted to make spirits the correct way, but most used anything they could get their hands on in the distillation process, this included toxic materials such as sawdust, which lead to an increase in the deaths throughout the country.

This period of chaos continued until 1751, when the Gin Act was established which had the initial purpose of banning all gin due to the aforementioned drunkenness and debauchery that was commonplace in London.
What actually happened around this time, is due to the law reducing the amount of unsanctioned distilleries, several legitimate sources of gin began to show up. This includes Plymouth Gin (out of Plymouth, England) in 1795, and Beefeater who began producing their namesake London Dry in 1820. This period from the late 1700’s until the late 1800’s begat the birth of the spirit known today as gin.

Okay so I’ve got a bottle of Gin, I’m set right? Don’t they all taste the same?

Just as in any other spirit category, each gin differs, from flavor profile to ingredients to working better in one cocktail than another. Throughout this article we’ll discuss London dry gins, gins heavy in juniper, gins that don’t exactly fit into the standard gin profile (not necessarily a bad thing) and even cover what Genever is and why it tastes so different from that you’d normally expect out of something that falls in the Gin family.

(Editors Note-This article’s purpose is to compare the flavors and types of Gin, and as such we aren’t rating any of these brands.)

First up, the infamous style known as Dry Gin. Dry gins, along with Genever and Old Tom are three of the oldest styles of gins, with the fourth oldest being Plymouth. Only in recent years has a fifth style known has New Western Style Gin begun to make the rounds.

Anything considered a London Style Dry Gin is made using a neutral grain spirit, which is re-distilled after adding the botanicals. Once it goes through this distillation process, nothing else may be added.
Usually the botanicals that make up dry gins include juniper, anise, licorice root, coriander, cassia bark and more bitter botanicals such as lemon and bitter orange peels.

What defines something as a London Dry Gin? There are a few key rules and characteristics that are used to define something in this day and age as a London Dry Gin. While new style dry or new world gins are able to use multiple distillations to impart the various botanicals they use to make their gin, well their own gin, a London Dry Gin’s botanicals must be distilled in that first pass.

Additionally a London Dry Gin will also tend to have a very juniper-forward profile upon tasting, whereas gins that fall into the category New Western dry gins won’t always have a juniper-forward profile, and will range from profiles that contain notes of mint, to notes of citrus and a few things in between. This isn’t to say you won’t always get the juniper when tasting these newer style gins, the juniper just won’t be in the forefront as much as other flavors will. Regardless any spirit calling itself a gin, must have juniper in it, otherwise it’s not allowed to be called a gin.

We’ll cover Genever, the New Western Dry Gin and Old Tom Gin categories tomorrow in part 2 of the brief history. After tomorrow rounds out the historical part of Gin Madness, we’ll follow that up on Wednesday with the beginning of several weeks highlighting individual gin brands, here at A Muddled Thought.

Here’s a look at Spirits Historians Anastasia Miller and Jared Brown at the 2009 Gin Symposium discussing the history of Juniper and how Gin got its start.

The custom absinthe fountain at PDT's NYC.

Beginning this week A Muddled Thought will explore the ever growing absinthe category. Follow me (and the little green fairy) on a tasting tour of some of the world’s most interesting absinthes (both good and bad) and wrap your head around this mystical category

With all the mystery surrounding the once banned substance known as Absinthe, even the name itself is intriguing. What is the mysterious draw people have towards this substance, that in the past has been associated with madness, hallucinations, artists’ creativity, and over time earned the nickname “the green fairy”? Is it because of rumors that great minds such as Van Gogh and Hemingway created some of their most remarkable work after imbibing great quantities of this liquid?

With the rumors of such side effects of madness and hallucinations attributed to absinthe, it went from being one of the worlds most popular drinks in the late 1800′s to being banned in the early 1900′s.
So what caused absinthe to become banned? Up until recent years — in fact as recent as 2007 – thujone, one of the main ingredients in absinthe, had been thought to cause madness. In fact it was actually chemical additives such as copper sulfate that were used as artificially coloring that caused mental illness, not thujone as once thought. This, coupled with wine makers in France petitioning the French government to ban absinthe (mainly due to absinthe outselling wine), led France to say goodbye to the green nectar it once loved.

A brief absinthe timeline:

Circa 1792- Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor living in Switzerland, creates the original patent recipe for absinthe.

1797- Major Dubied and Henri-Louis Perrenod open the first absinthe distillery in Couvet, Switzerland

1910- Switzerland bans absinthe.

1909- The Netherlands bans absinthe.

1912- TheUnited States bans absinthe.

1915- France bans absinthe.

1990’s-BBH Spirits starts importing Czech(billed as bohemian) ‘absinth’.

Early 2000s – Absinthe begins reappearing in Europe after it’s realized that EU law effectively re-legalizes it.

2004- The Netherlands lifts the ban on absinthe.

2005- The law banning absinthe is repealed in Switzerland.

2007-Lucid is the first absinthe to be made available in the United States since the original ban of 1912.

So now that we’ve cleared that up, a few more things about absinthe:

What causes the green color in absinthe?

The green color that is most often associated with absinthe is traditionally created by a combination of whole herbs including hyssop, roman wormwood, and lemon balm (otherwise known as Melissa). Lesser quality brands use artificial dyes.

Does absinthe have to be green to be absinthe?

No. Actually there are two distinct historical categories of traditional absinthe.

The most commonly recognized version of absinthe is that of a green liquid known as “verte” ;from the French word meaning “green”. Absinthe also appears in a second, clear variety known as “blanche”. The “blanche” (white) style of absinthe came into vogue in Switzerland following the ban. The deliberate omission of the coloring step by illegal distillers served as a means of disguising clandestinely produced absinthe from the watchful eyes of the authorities.

Is there a difference between French and Swiss absinthe?

Aside from referring to the country of origin, no. The term “Swiss absinthe” historically refers to any absinthe crafted strictly from the most traditional method of production. Thus, the highest quality absinthes from France and Switzerland were historically described as “Swiss absinthes”. The term “French absinthe” simply stems from the tremendous popularity of absinthe in France during the 1800’s and early 1900’s.

What about this supposed bohemian style of absinthe?

The resurgence of absinthe in Europe during the 1990s was spawned a rush of products to the EU market that are cheaply compounded from alcohol, oils, and artificial dyes, and bear no resemblance to the famous Franco-Swiss spirit. Some of them even consist of no more than alcohol with a handful of herbal matter floating in the bottle. These products are primarily of Czech origin, and are marketed as “bohemian absinth” (note the absence of the “e”). It has been offered that ‘bohemian absinth’ existed in Eastern Europe prior to the communist era, but a lack of actual evidence indicates that if it did, it was very obscure. Today, the term “bohemian absinth” loosely refers to products of varying quality that are marketed as absinthe, but are devoid of the characteristic anise and fennel flavor associated with the traditional spirit.

So what makes absinthe, well absinthe?

Absinthe, as created by Pierre Ordinaire and popularized throughout France, Switzerland, and much of the world was always an anise spirit, and any truly traditional absinthe derives its core flavor from a direct distillation of three main herbs, green anise, sweet fennel, and absinthium. Absinthe aficionados lovingly refer to these herbs as the ‘holy trinity’ of absinthe.

Secondary ingredients that were traditionally used include: Roman wormwood , lemon balm, hyssop, mint, coriander, and other herbs. Distillers of contemporary absinthes often employ different combinations of herbs to obtain a variety of accenting flavor profiles and create their own individuality. This makes absinthe a fascinating spirit, as very few brands have the same accenting flavor profile.

Two things common to any absinthe crafted true to artisanal tradition are firstly, the color of any traditional verte absinthe is obtained directly from whole herbs, and never from artificial dyes (e.g. FD&C Blue, Yellow, etc.). Secondly, absinthe always was invariably a dry spirit, and was never bottled with sugar (i.e. labeled as a “liqueur”).

So what’s the difference between absinthium (otherwise known as grande wormwood), and other types of wormwood?

The term “wormwood” is ambiguous when used alone. Artemisia absinthium (grande wormwood) is the very herb from which the word “absinthe” is derived, is one of the primary ingredients in absinthe, and is partially responsible for the core flavoring of absinthe. If this herb isn’t used in any appreciable amount (or omitted entirely), the resulting spirit ostensibly shouldn’t qualify as an “absinthe”. Roman wormwood, or “petite absinthe” does not create absinthe on its own, but was almost always used to enhanced the flavor and/or contribute to the color of a verte absinthe. There are many other types of wormwood, but these are not generally associated with absinthe.

How does the US government currently classify something as an absinthe?

Currently no official government declaration of what is required for something to be labeled as absinthe exists in the U.S.. This same situation exists in the EU, and has allowed a glut of inferior products to come to market and be paraded as “absinthe”. The only country that has a regulation that governs what can be marketed as “absinthe” is Switzerland, and no cheaper, industrial brands can be produced, imported, or sold there. Unfortunately, the Swiss regulation is presently under attack by EU business interests.

So how is Absinthe made?

There are several major steps to the process of creating a traditional absinthe.
The first step is comprised of macerating (or soaking) herbs and botanicals in a high-proof neutral spirit, for a period of time in a pot still.

Once this step is completed, the macerated liquid enters the distillation process, at which time the herbal essences and alcohol are vaporized and then re-condensed, finally becoming the spirit we know and love as absinthe.

Finally, there is an optional, delicate herbal maceration step that contributes the characteristic olive green tint.

Enough reading, how do I drink absinthe?

Absinthe is usually a high proof alcohol, ranging from 110 to 144 proof. The traditional way to drink absinthe is to pour one ounce of absinthe and slowly dilute it with ice water, either by using an absinthe fountain which allows for a slow drip, or by hand using a carafe. The suggested method is roughly three parts water to one part absinthe. A special glass known as a Perigord or Pontarlier glass is recommended as it was designed with a one ounce reservoir at the bottom of the glass to allow for serving of the exact amount of absinthe, no more and no less to create the most enjoyable imbibing experience.
Often an absinthe spoon, a small metal slotted spoon is placed on top of the absinthe glass along with a sugar cube to add sweetness to the absinthe. You need to better clarify the practice of dripping the water through the sugar into the glass via the absinthe spoon.

So why don’t I just drink my absinthe neat?

Absinthe was developed as a concentrated ‘medicine’, and was never intended to be served neat. As absinthe is an incredibly high proof, you will burn the taste buds and will not be able to suitably enjoy your serving of absinthe.

In addition, adding water to dilute the absinthe allows the absinthe to “louche” or bring out the essences of the anise, fennel,and other herbs to create a cloudy, and often milky white effect. This is best achieved slowly, hence the recommendation of using an absinthe fountain which allows you to control the water flow into the glass containing the absinthe. . By utilizing a fountain you’re less likely to over-dilute the absinthe than if you were to hand pour the water .
Now with all that out of the way, the fun part starts: the tasting of several brands of absinthe.
This article would not be have been possible without the assistance and contributions of the following individuals:

Ted Breaux-Master Distiller of Nouvelle-Orléans and Lucid Absinthes (http://www.vintageabsinthe.com)

Greg Boehm and Christina Andrews -Of Mud Puddle Books(www.cocktailkingdom.com)

Bryan Alex-Obsello Absinthe

Sam Harrington-Of Brand Action Team (www.brandactionteam.com)

Danielle Katz and Christine Deussen of Deussen Global(http://www.deussenglobal.com/)

Jim Meehan of PDT NYC

John Troia of Tempus Fugit

Editorial assistance was provided by:

Josh Hoffman of www.spiritedcocktails.com

Laren Spirer of www.sweetblogomine.com

Francine Cohen of Food and Beverage Magazine- www.fb101.com