Hendrick’s Gin

Givran, Scotland
$43-50 for 750ml.  Available at BC Liquor Stores   +637504

Looking over the lineup for this weekend’s Art of the Cocktail whet my whistle for spirits. Though I have many (many) adored spirits, I will always hold the spectacularly maverick Hendrick’s Gin close to heart. Distinctive for both its hefty apothecary bottle, and its famous heaven-matched rose and cucumber, Hendrick’s is not a gin for the norm. In fact, part of the appeal of this unforgettable spirit is its peculiarity, evident on the spirit’s Curiositorium of a website.  The company is legendary for its quirky anti-advertising. Slogans like “It is not for everybody” and “Preferred by 1 out of 1000 gin drinkers,” might turn off some, but make me love it even more.

Though gin is historically London-born, Hendrick’s is distilled in super small lots (on 2 tiny, ancient and extremely rare stills) by William Grant & Sons in Girvan, Scotland. The small, seaside Girvan has abundant soft, lowland water, said to be ideal for distilling. In addition to the traditional juniper-dominant infusion of roots, flowers, seeds and fruits, Hendrick’s distinctively uses a hint of Bulgarian Rose followed by a mash of artisanal cucumber. Delicate notes of green juniper greet at first, quickly woven with complex citrus, floral, tickling spice – and yes, fresh and youthful perfumed cuke. Lighter than most gins, but oh-so velvet smooth, with incredible length and memory. Use this handcrafted gin in your G&T on the rocks, but garnish with thin slices cucumber instead of the traditional citrus.

Love gin? Or want to know what all the fuss is about? Pick up a ticket for THE PREHISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF GIN at this weekend’s Art of the Cocktail. Jet-set bartender, occasional writer, saloonkeeper and full-time honorary Dutchman Philip Duff charts the ancient, missing true history of gin; from the Moors settling France as far as Bordeaux until 732 AD, to 1269 in Holland, England’s Gin Craze in the 1700s, the birth of Mahon gin in the 1700s, the rise and rise and fall of gin, and the re-birth of the gin category in the late 1980s. Includes exhaustive tastings of every gin and genever you’ve never heard of, including a world exclusive: gin made to the world’s oldest recipe for a gin, all the way from 1495(!). I’m in! Tickets for this, and many other spectacular tastings and seminars are available at www.artofthecocktail.ca.

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