The holiday season has ended. The weather is cold and bleak. The Christmas tree is gone and the lights and décor have been packed up and put away. The only thing to look forward to is the inevitable arrival of bills reflecting the overindulgences of the past few months, and the joy of compiling our 2019 taxes.
Sigh. A dark time of year, to say the least. Before you pull the covers over your head and try to wish it all away, consider this: why not spice up this January with splash of gin?
If there was ever a time for a stiff drink, it is now. Gin has been a favorite of the intellectual set for just about forever. The likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker threw back gin martinis with aplomb, the magic elixir only serving to ignite their creative muses even further. The literary members of New York City’s storied Algonquin Round Table sipped on gin martinis during their famously intellectual literary meetings. Gin is positively historic.
Although the young hipsters of today prefer everything made with vodka, vodka, and more vodka, those of us in the know understand that a gin martini holds more elegance, romance, and sophistication than a mere vodka martini, or “Vodkatini,” if you will, ever could. Gin is the choice of James Bond, so how could that be wrong?
What is gin, you may wonder? Gin’s base is a neutral spirit that can be made from grain, molasses, or potatoes. Grain spirit is the most commonly used today. Gin is in fact, simply flavored vodka. But it’s so much more than that.
To carry the moniker “Gin” there are certain requirements to which to adhere. The spirit must be infused with juniper, first and foremost, as that is gin’s defining flavor. Other botanicals often used include star anise, citrus peel, coriander, angelica, cardamom, orris root, and licorice.
The crafting of fine gin is a thing of beauty involving distillation vapors passing through spices and exotic roots in enormous copper pots. Some gin makers allow their fruits and botanicals to macerate in a neutral spirit before distillation for extra intensity of flavor. Each label has its own recipe and gins may vary wildly in flavor from brand to brand.
In the world of quality gin, each producer creates a revelation of its own, from Hendrick’s Gin’s delicate rose petal and cucumber gin, to smooth Plymouth Gin, to Scotland’s exotic “The Botanist” Gin, to the most intriguing and flamboyant of all, South African Elephant Dung Gin. You think I’m kidding. I’m not.
According to the creators of this award-winning gin, elephants ingest a wonderful array of leaves and flowers, nuts and fruits. As it turns out, most of this potpourri remains undigested as it passes through the elephant. A few intrepid South Africans decided to make use of those pre-mixed flavors, so to speak, and create a uniquely South African Gin. This gin was awarded a double gold medal at South Africa’s Craft Gin Awards, so it is truly something rare and tasty to seek out.
As you navigate the dark months of winter, don’t forget to grab a bottle or two of good gin to sip on a chilly evening. Whether you enjoy your gin in a cocktail, over ice, or neat, you may soon find yourself surrounded by adoring family and friends. Gin is simply irresistible.
Cheers!
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