The Present – Lemon Grass & Ginger Gin

Oh this Blog is not going in chronological order at all, oh well bugger it, this is how my brain seems to work.

So I was recently at a wedding up in Arisaig with fellow Gin Clubber Caldo (see post below). The wedding was Ritchie’s – an old school friend from Blairgowrie. Ritchie is a fellow Gin lover but has never actually been along to Gin Club to drink Gin and get the banter. So, as a present, me being a cheap skate (this didn’t actually turn out to be the cheap or stress free option) decided to craft my own Gin. After a long think about my favourite flavours and possibly a few impulse buys in Waitrose (yes, I have become that person who shops in the shop where people of a certain age, and what they perceive is their social standing, look at you with disdain and never apologise for walking into you) we were ready to go.

To kick-start the process I bought a 1 litre bottle of decent 50% ABV vodka, I should whisper this was Smirnoff Blue Label, and a second bottle of 40%. I also had a whole piece of ginger root – the standard size any supermarket sells, four stalks of lemon grass, a handful of dried juniper berries (about a small tea-cup – when I weighed it, it was around 20 grams) and a healthy pinch of rosemary. As you may have gathered there is nothing scientific or measured here. I was just going on my knowledge of flavours, making a Gin is as standard as everyday day cooking, isn’t it?

Everything was chopped up, except the dried juniper berries which were bashed, broken or used whole. The 50% vodka was added to a mixing bowl, then into that was added the botanicals. The bowl was covered in clingfilm and left. Everyday for two weeks I would open it up and stir. As time went on you could see the liquid begin to take on the colour of the ingredients, it became very orange or “gingery” in appearance. At this stage it was exceptionally bitter to the taste. On the Friday morning, after the two weeks of infusion, Caldo and I removed the clingfilm for the final time to filter and taste. The liquid had lost a fair bit of it’s volume due to evaporation, so in went the remainig bottle of 40% vodka – this instantly removed the bitterness of the concentrated Gin. It’s hard to explain but the remaining liquid felt stronger than the liquid that went in in the first place.

Once all the botanicals had been removed and the extra vodka was added, small particles could still be seen remain. We decided to strain further using coffee machine filter papers. This process took hours. Upon completing the first few filtrations we observed liquid was being lost through evaporation so we rebottled with the decision to reconvene at the wedding venue. Within three hours further sediment had settled in the newly bottled Gin so we filtered again before leaving overnight. Another 12 hours, and more sediment. We completed a final filtration which resulted in an orange but significantly clearer liquid.

The Gin tasted great for a first attempt, the ginger and the lemon worked so well together. It was almost like Thai cuisine but minus the spice. When Fever-Tree and lime were added, it was transformed into a very refreshing and what would be a perfect Summer drink.

Squirrel: Gin Club

Fagus House and The Botanist

March 31, 2014May 18, 2014theglasgowginclub Uncategorized Tags: Arisaig, Bloom Gin, Botanist, Bruichladdich, The Botanist 1 Comment

Having a Friday off is amazing, especially when you’re off to Arisaig for a wedding with the Gin Club. That Friday was also the day we stopped into the Bruichladdich offices to chat to Lynne McEwan about The Botanist.

After discovering that Lynne’s Dad was the genius behind The Botanist and hearing all about the Gin itself along with their newly branded bottle, it was time to accept a generous gift and get our skates on. On the walk home there was just enough time to pick up some more Gin (you can never have too much), the selection being Ophir, which has flavours of pepper and cardamom, followed by enough Fever-Tree tonic to cater for the whole wedding and something else which I hadn’t tried yet – a pre-mix Fentimens G&T which uses Bloom. I also had to pack my homemade infusion Gin which had been flavoured with lemon grass and ginger (a tiny bit of rosemary in there too).

I love driving up the West Coast, the road from Glasgow to Fort William is incredible. Glencoe must be one of the few places on earth where you want to remain at 40mph, as the scenery, regardless of how many times you have seen it or how cloudy it is, is still spectacular enough to make you slow down and look out the window (and nearly crash your car – as I almost did).

Arriving at Arisaig was just as spectacular; an old private house, castle like in design – as are so many other noble Scottish houses, with a view out over the Sound of Arisaig. Caldo and I had a wee cottage which we were to share with the photographers Eve and Chris, who also came prepared with Gin, mixers and garnish. I won’t say what Gin they brought as it’s verging on breaking the rules….

The night started with Caldo and I enjoying The Botanist on our balcony overlooking a view of the Sound. I can safely say that Bruichladdich has produced something magical with this creation. Not only does the Gin play to my citrus loving palate (that might also have something to do the grapefruit I garnished it with), but it was a perfect match for the location at which it was being enjoyed – the shoreline of the West Coast. It’s an incredibly lovely Gin, as the night goes on you start to notice more and more of the flavours in there. The Gin also embodies the brand. Bruichladdich isn’t a classic distillery, the branding alone shows that they are modern in their vision. There is no pretence in the drinking of their products. That’s a pet hate of mine, distillers that still treat their products as if it’s the 1940s and that they should only be enjoyed by people drinking from a nosing glass that will dissect the aroma, body and palate of the spirit. Don’t get me wrong I agree with tasting Gin and appreciating the notes and flavours which characterise each Gin but The Botanist proves that it’s an accomplished drink – do it justice, drink the thing and enjoy it.

I love their tasting notes, “Finish: All this from a beaten up old pot still, operated by beaten up distillers on the coast of heaven”. Well it tastes magical and we were drinking it on the coast of heaven at the best of events with the best of company.

Thank you Botanist.

arisaig