Gin is flavoured vodka. Gasp! Yes, it is true. Gin, by definition is a white spirit containing juniper as well as a number of other traditional and less traditional botanicals.
These botanicals are infused into a base spirit through either a steeped infusion (soaked botanicals) or a vapour infusion (in a basket in the still) or a combination of both techniques. The earliest references to gin are from the 13th century with the earliest printed recipe for genever dating back to the 16th century.
What is genever? It’s one of the major varieties of gin. There are categories and styles amongst these main types, but the big guns are: London dry, genever, old Tom, and international/new wave/new American style. Many people have a strong distaste for gin, because they had too much in one sitting back in high school, or it reminds them of their grandmother, or it smells like Christmas... but to be fair, saying you don’t like gin is like saying you don’t like sauce. There are many ways to drink gin and many different gins to drink.
I have to (abashedly) admit that there once was a time where I didn’t like gin either. It’s true. My love for gin began down the rabbit hole of cocktail culture.
Gin came into fashion during prohibition. There were a lot of vodkas being made (illegally) during that time that were a little less than desirable. What better way to cover up some slightly off flavours than to throw some really strong botanicals into it? Some of the gin was made in bathtubs.
From this era came a swell of amazing cocktails made with gin: Aviation, Last Word, French 75, the infinite variations on the Corpse Reviver, and others. Modern-day cocktail bartenders make genius cocktails with gin that can greatly differ in taste depending on the style and brand used. Pro tip: If you’re out for a night of cocktail drinking in one of the world’s spirit meccas, gin is the ideal spirit, as provides lots of options. If you ask a bartender to make you something delicious with gin, it opens up a great dialogue. And you are more likely to feel great the next day if you have shied away from brown spirits – although wonderful, they are more likely to cause hangovers.
A little ditty on gin would not be compete without a word on tonic. I am convinced that the reason a lot of people don’t like gin is because they have had it with inferior tonic. Take a sip right out of a can of syrupy Schweppes one day and you tell me. But we are living in the golden age of tonic. There are many fabulous ones on the market, but even more exciting is the availability of tonic syrup. We sell a great one at the distillery made by Bowman’s. Hailing from Vancouver it is a great local product, and a little goes a long way. Grab some soda or pump up that soda stream, add a teaspoon of tonic syrup and your favourite gin. Voila! There are wonderful recipes online for gin and tonic popsicles (yes – it’s true), gin and tonic cupcakes (we had a customer bake us some) and all manner of other treats. There are great selections of gin available at our local liquor stores with the most variety hailing from the downtown Squamish Liquor Store.
A really nice treat is the mezcal gin from Pierde Almas (so good!). But you’ll have to travel into the big city for that one. We are very proud of our Gillespie’s Sin Gin available at the distillery and around town and we would also recommend St. George’s Dry Rye gin – it requires a city trip to the Legacy Liquor store.
I invite you to fall in love with gin. Have a party. Get everyone invited to bring a different gin and perhaps the mixings for cocktails or gin and tonics and different garnishes. Have some fun! There is really something to this spirit and its lore.
