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Skriven 2012-09-01 23:22:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: 10 things about gin
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10 Things You Might Not Know About Gin

By Simon Ford, Food Republic

Gin is one of my favorite spirits and I have spent the best part of
my time over the past 10 years teaching people about its history,
production, virtues and cocktails. I have spoken about the spirit at
events such as the International Association of Culinary
Professionals and Tales of the Cocktail. When my good friend Allen
Katz first started to develop his own gin recipes, I jumped at the
opportunity to help. He spent over a year perfecting his recipes and
the result was two amazing and unique gins that are being produced
in Brooklyn. I believe gin to be the quintessential cocktail spirit,
and Allenûs work has inspired me to begin working on my own gin.
Here are 10 things you might not know about the spirit...

1. Gin is for cocktails - not on its own. You can drink tequila and
mescal as shots, and vodka is served chilled with food (zakuski) in
its native land. Bourbon, rye and whiskey drinkers might add some
ice or a splash of water. Gin is meant to be mixed, however, as the
botanicals (herbs, spices etc.) come to life in cocktails and add
complexity to the drink. This is why so many classic cocktails call
for gin.

2. There are more classic cocktails made with gin than with any
other spirit Negroni, Ramos Gin Fizz, Martinez, Gin Rickey, Red
Snapper, Tom Collins, White Lady, Hanky Panky, Clover Club,
Alexander, French 75, Gimlet, Vesper, Singapore Sling, Silver Bronx,
Pegu Club, Beeûs Knees, Southside. And that is just scratching the
surface.

3. Holland made gin first. Gin is Englandûs national spirit and there
are few things more English than a refreshing gin & tonic. Most of
the most famous gins you see around the world hail from the UK, so
it is forgivable to think that the spirit first came from here. The
English actually discovered gin when they were fighting the Thirty
Yearsû War in the 17th century in Holland and saw Dutch soldiers
drinking Jenever to boost morale before heading into battle. The
term "Dutch Courage" was born, and the English brought the idea of
making and drinking gin back with them. It would take another 150
years before they would have their own version.

4. London dry gin is not always from London. Gin does not have the
same geographical restrictions as spirits such as cognac, scotch or
tequila. Only a tiny handful of London dry gins are actually made in
the city. There are, however, 13 gins that have a "geographical
indication." The most famous of these is Plymouth gin, which has
been made in Plymouth, England since 1793.

5. One man deserves recognition. Desmond Payne is currently the
master distiller at Beefeater and has been there for more than 17
years. He formerly held the same position at Plymouth, giving him
more experience making fine gin than anyone else. He also created
Beefeater 24 which incorporates tea into the distillation process
and is a great ingredient for punches.

6. A martini means gin: a martini consists of gin, dry vermouth and
optional bitters. When the golden age of the martini was in full
swing, most people in cocktail drinking nations had not yet tried
vodka. During the era of the three-martini lunch, Smirnoff released
a very clever campaign, "Vodka leaves you breathless," that combined
with the cool of James Bond to help vodka hijack gin's place in the
iconic drink.

7. Gin can be used for medicinal purposes: In 1269, the first major
mention of juniper-based health-related tonics appeared in a Dutch
publication. Ever since, gin has had a history of being used "for
medicinal purposes." The Royal Navy mixed gin with lime cordial to
stop scurvy, and angostura settled the stomach at sea. Tonic water
with quinine was anti-malarial, giving them a great excuse to drink
more gin and tonics.

8. Gin is flavored vodka:  The most usual production method for gin
is to distill botanicals, such as juniper, coriander, citrus peel,
cinnamon, almond or liquorice, with neutral grain alcohol. Making
gin is like flavoring vodka, except that botanicals are always
natural. A skilled gin distiller knows how to balance the botanical
flavors to make a quality product.

9. The Philippines drinks the most gin The global sale of the spirit
is nearly 60 million cases, and almost half of this is consumed in
the Philippines. The country drinks over 22 million cases of Ginebra
San Miguel, and while this gin accounts for 43% of the gin market,
most people outside the Philippines have never heard of it. Other
big gin drinking nations are Spain (where gin and tonics are
popular) the U.S and, of course, the UK.

10. Saying you donût like gin is like saying you don't like sauce.
All gin uses juniper as its main ingredient. After that, however,
there are very few limits to the hundreds of ingredients a
distillery can use. Some gins have as few as three or four botanical
flavors, while the Scottish gin Botanist has 31. The flavors in gin
range from cucumber and rose (Hendricks) to lavender (Aviation) to
lemongrass and black pepper (Bombay Sapphire East). No two gins are
alike, making the spirit very diverse in flavor and exciting for the
budding bartender.



Cheers

YK Jim


... I mixed a little Chloral Hydrate into her medicinal glass of Gin

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