Drink These Gins This Spring + An Easy, Refreshing Cocktail Recipe

What are Spring Gins? While they aren’t really a gin category, we are going to examine a newer style of gin that use floral tones to break away from the old school London Dry styles of yesteryear.

The world of gin is huge. Recently, for instance, an 18th Century pub in Saddlesworth, UK received a Guinness World Record for having over 400 different styles of gin on the back bar. Gin can vary from light, citrusy styles to big, overproof juniper bombs and everything in between. With spring soon to arrive here in Victoria and the rest of Canada catching up, here are some spring gins that pair well with local produce and recently released tonics.

Spring Gins have a loose definition but often have flavour profiles of spring: cucumber, floral, grapefruit, fresh rain, and forest. When you smell the aromas, it should transport to you a corner of your mind that brings back floods of memories from walks on the beach, the cherry blossoms in the inner harbour or the floral bloom in Beacon Hill Park. Which gin is paired with which tonic yields very different results.

BLOOM – UK

A gin from the home of gin that strays from the norm, Bloom is infused with chamomile, pomelo and honeysuckle. On its own, with tonic, or with a garnish of fresh strawberry, this is the epitome of spring in a glass.

BOMBAY EAST – UK

A new interpretation of a very classic gin, the Bombay Easy’s profile includes lemongrass and Vietnamese black peppercorns. This is an amazing gin for the cabinet at home.

G’VINE FLORAISON – FRANCE

A huge floral bomb of a gin, this gin uses the flowers from the Ugni Blanc grape vines to distill a unique sweet floralness into the base of an amazing gin.

HENDRICK’S – SCOTLAND

The original rogue in the camp of London Dry Gins, the Hendrick’s is distilled with cucumber and rose petals. A perfect gin when paired with an afternoon in the rose garden eating cucumber sandwiches and drinking gin and tonics.

MARTIN MILLER

A new style of gin out of the UK, Martin Miller is sflavored with cucumber and uses glacial water from Iceland. Fresh, clean, crisp and great in a Pimm’s Cup.

Gin Cocktail

Roses are Blind

(pictured above)

12 oz Hendrick’s
1/2 cucumber in slices
4 bunches of mint
2 bottles of Phillip’s Fermentorium Philospher’s Brew Tonic
2 bottles of Phillip’s Fermentorium Cucumber & Mint Tonic
1/2 oz rose water

Pour gin, mint, cucumber & rose water into a jug and let stand for 15mins – 30mins. Add ice and stir to equally distribute the cucumber and mint. Top with tonics.

— Shawn Soole