Gin: The Manual

"Dave is probably the foremost whisky expert in the world. He is one of my favourite writers when it comes to whisky and his understanding of the whisky industry and the heritage of it is second-to-none. I have loved reading his books for many a year. When you read his whisky books, you are transfixed and taken aback by the poetry and the understanding. He can make someone love a spirit. I don’t feel that his understanding of gin is anywhere near that calibre. I think he was asked to write a book by his editors because it was a trendy topic, as opposed to him having inherent knowledge. Yes, tasting, and then systematically putting them through, say, gin and lemonade, gin and tonic, gin and ginger ale. You actually get a really good understanding of how to use gin in a domestic context. It’s not just personal, subjective opinions—which of course there are a lot of—but a similar metric on which to evaluate the taste of gin. If you say, ‘Okay, I like this gin that he said is citrusy and works well with this,’ you can flick through the book very easily to find something he’s said the same thing about and therefore make the inference that you might like that too. It’s a very good list book. You can use it as a reference to go, ‘Well, where do I start with this gin category?’ You read a couple of pages and go, ‘I like the sound of that,’ and you give it a try. It’s a very easy one to flick back and forth in and find something that you might like. I’ve posted an article about the ultimate gin cabinet—which five gins would you get? I find it quite difficult because it’s one of those things where I can’t separate the people, the production and the place in which it’s made, to the end outcome. There are certain gins that I absolutely admire and love but don’t necessarily like the flavour of. “ I don’t feel I ever buy a gin for the sake of a flavour. I buy a gin as an endorsement of who, how, and where it’s made.” And, equally, there are some that I love the flavour of but I know how it’s made. Sometimes, you like the flavour of something but it’s just an indulgent treat, and you ought to know better. You like it but, when you think about it, you really shouldn’t like it as much as you do. That’s my problem. So, I don’t have a favourite gin per se . It’s more of a specific gin for a specific occasion. I think that conscious consumption is where I place the value in what I buy. I don’t feel I ever buy a gin for the sake of a flavour. I buy a gin as an endorsement of who, how, and where it’s made. Yes, it reminds you of a place. A good example of this is St. George’s Terroir Gin, which is Californian gin. It’s very well-crafted. The flavours are deliberately reminiscent of a Californian forest on a sun-drenched afternoon. So you get that Douglas fir, bay laurel, warming sun sensation coming through in each and every sip. Or it might just be supporting someone like the guys at Half Hitch which is based in Camden. You look at it and it’s been a one-man band that has risked everything and built a micro distillery in the heart of Camden town. He’s built a great product and is building a great team around him. You can’t help but root for that kind of person. It’s entrepreneurial spirit but with authenticity and integrity. Those things matter to me more than the end flavour. That’s what I think about when I drink. It’s about the entire package. And people don’t necessarily buy something for the first time on flavour, because they don’t know the flavour. It is based on price point and availability but also the look and feel of it. If you’re going to spend thirty quid on something, it’s got to look the part as well. That was just in December. There was an 18% increase for everything spirits-related in December 2016, compared to December 2015. There was an enormous surge for spirits and alcohol, in terms of purchasing across the UK. That was very much driven by gin. It just goes to show that growth year-on-year has been astronomic. I wouldn’t say that gin as a category has grown double digits, but it has certainly grown over five per cent. The big brands are still the lion’s share of volume in the UK. The big four or five gins that you can think of—Gordon’s, Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire etc—are still eighty percent of the market. So, of course, the bulk of the volume is theirs. But where the growth is happening and the interest is happening and the rise is happening is absolutely all in this craft sector. They’re growing at breakneck pace. The other guys are growing too but it’s very much these small producers all across the country that are taking gin to the next level and are seeing double digit growth year-on-year. Yes, there is a whey-based spirit which is a New Zealand gin called Reid+Reid. Whey isn’t really that heard of in the UK as a base. Most people are more familiar with wheat or even grape-based spirits, which have been popularised through the big vodkas in France. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Whey-based spirits are a bit more common in New Zealand and also in Ireland. A lot of people are turning to it as the base for the gin. Ballyvolane makes a gin called Bertha’s Revenge and they call it a ‘milk’ gin because that’s where whey comes from. And it’s not just a marketing USP, it really accentuates the spice, from a flavour point of view. It’s quite an interesting one to have a little taste of. Yes, on every level. What could you use as the base? What could you use as botanicals? What hasn’t been done? And also, when you’ve made your gin, could you then infuse something into it—rhubarb or something else? There are experiments on all of those fronts. Also, the way it’s distilled. Do you have to distil it in a pot still? Could you vapour infuse it? Could you do it under a vacuum and do it at minus temperatures? People are distilling gin at -30 degree Celsius. It’s crazy. So development, R&D, experimentation and innovation are happening on every single level that you could possibly think of—and even not think of because these guys are developing entirely new areas in which to grow for the future."