Tag: Gin

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Holiday Season 2023 – Day 8 – Christmas Gin from Old Curiosity

Let’s take a beer breather and look at my favorite spirit, gin. Specifically Old Curiosity Christmas Gin.

“The Gin is distilled with ginger, cinnamon and cardamom which gives the undeniably familiar smell of Christmas and provides a festive spicy flavour. The drink is infused with mallow petals to provide a distinctive festive colour which transforms to a vibrant pink when mixed with tonic water; the perfect showstopper for any Christmas party.  The seasonal gin is smooth and elegant with a light base. For a real festive feel, garnish with a slice of dried orange peel, a cinnamon stick and a dash of tonic to witness the glorious colour change”

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FWIBF – Paso Distilled

It is not really a trip to Paso Robles without visiting at least one distillery.

First up was CalWise Spirits just down Ramada Drive from Firestone Walker. That is important because they get their wash from them. CalWise does gin, rum, whiskey and liqueurs. I tasted a little bit of everything. Most impressive to me were the gins. Their flagship and their blood orange worked well for me. And I bought a bottle of their Vermut for cocktail use at home. Distiller and tasting tour guide Leo gave a lot of info about the distillery and what they liked and even played the new Ben Folds album was I was sipping.

Second was Bethel Rd. Distilling next to Castoro Cellars and Peachy Canyon. It is a lovely indoor / outdoor space with grapevine views. All of their spirits come from grapes and brandy is their forte. I sample three brandies from neutral to flagship to VSOP. I was quite surprised by the first, expecting a harsh vodka bite but it was delicate. The VSOP was another winner. The gin was great as well, enough for me to buy a bottle.

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Seasonal Magic

Craft beer has seasonal beers, most notably in winter but there are certainly beets for spring, summer and fall too. When obe thinks of gin, you may not think that way but Leopold’s Distilling in Colorado does and their summer gin is out now for 2023.

“This gin draws on the warm climates from which its exceptional ingredients are harvested by hand: Spanish Blood Oranges for a rich sweetness, French Immortal Flowers and Juniper Berries for a cool and clean flavor, and Australian Lemon Myrtle for a fresh, citrus finish. Each ingredient is distilled individually to honor its distinctive flavors.”

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Dogged Whiskey & Gin

It was a sad day when Portland’s famed Hair of the Dog Brewing closed up shop but that news has been tempered by the fact that a new brewery will take up the space and now CopperWorks Distilling is upcycling used oak barrels from HotD for a cask finished Single Malt Whiskey and a Cask Finished Gin.

There is a Matt and Adam expression of both so you can compare and contrast.

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Older Aviation

Old Tom doesn’t get the same shelf space as gin but maybe that will change with Aviation Gin adding it to their line-up.  Sometimes you need the marketing muscle of a celebrity distillery to open a style up.

I have as many oak aged gins now as I do the regular.  Now if Aviation would make a Genever, that would be great.

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Big Sur

Calwise Spirits is just down Ramada from Firestone Walker and they are releasing a gin finished in DBA barrels. Below is the fascinating journey from idea to finished gin.

“To help create “Old Tom” Big Sur Gin, Firestone Walker generated a mash of traditional brewing grains with a complement of wine grape juice, all fermented with native yeast and bacteria. This base was then distilled by Calwise, imparting a unique imprint into the flavor profile of the original Big Sur Gin. 

Then, in the established Big Sur Gin fashion, Bergh infused the gin with organic wild herbs that are largely native to California’s iconic Big Sur coastline, including white sage, yerba santa, bay, fennel and elderberry as well as the essential juniper. 

“We also enhanced the traditional recipe by including botanicals such as coriander and orange peel, which were suggested by Brewmaster Matt Brynildson,” Bergh said. “We added rose petal as an ode to David Walker’s British roots.”

Bergh worked with Brynildson, Sensory Research Analyst Craig Thomas and the Firestone Walker brewing team to create the mash, acquire the right barrels and guide both versions of Old Tom Big Sur Gin to fruition. 

The resulting gins provide both common and contrasting qualities. The main version of “Old Tom” Big Sur gin is fragrant and elegant, while the version matured in DBA barrels has a richer, almost whiskey-like color and taste. “

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Raise the Flag

Staying on the topic of Gin. Here is a bit of history from the fine folks at 33 Books…

“While researching 33 Jiggers of Gin, I became fascinated with a historical tradition of the British Navy based around a triangular piece of fabric known as a “Gin Pennant.” As the story goes, officers of one ship would raise it to invite officers of nearby ships for cocktails (usually gin-based, because England).”

Now I just need flags for beer, cider and bourbon.

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Time for Old Tom

I am an inveterate gin dabbler but I have two glaring historical holes in my learning, Genever and Old Tom. Finally, thanks to Barkeeper in Virgil Village in L.A., I have ticked the latter from my to-do list.

I picked up the beautifully attired Hayman’s Old Tom.

As the English distillery describes it, “Today it’s a less familiar style of gin, but it is still a bartender’s favourite when making cocktails such as the Martinez, Tom Collins and Ramos Gin Fizz. The generous quantities of botanicals used in our family recipe create a bold citrus and juniper pine character that is smooth and beautifully delicate with a subtle underlying sweetness.”

The nose of this is quite hot. Clears the mind and the sinus for sure. Once past that, this is a delightful gin. Super smooth and quite perfumey. Not getting citrus but there is a slight bit of lavender that is great. For me, this is one of the very few gins that I could drink straight. But I think it would make a really nice martini.

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Pool Shark

Not a land shark, though that would be a logical brand extension, but Pool Shark a gin cocktail from Portuguese Bend Distilling in Long Beach.

They offer PBD rum, vodka and gin cocktails. Each can is two cocktails so when you get quoted thirty bucks for two cans, remember to divide by four and not two. I am a gin fan so I went for the spicy and fruity Pool Shark.

The jalapeno spice is there but the mango cuts it down to size as does the gin and lemon. It is a bit muddy orange in complexion but hazy IPA drinkers have seen worse. This is quite tasty and it does make me want to try the Rum Punch and Suga Suga cans as well.

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Hounded for Gin

I received a lovely little classic gin sample from Spirit Hound Distillers in Lyon, Colorado.

Here is my review….

Straight up, this is very bright and clean. I get a touch of spice and later citrus but this is almost smooth, no burn at all and easy to drink without a cocktail. Proper British is the best description.

In G&T form, it doesn’t try to steal the show. Maybe it should just a touch more as the balance is a little tilted towards the quinine. But it does really bring a big orange citrus note forward which I quite enjoy.

The “Hounds” also produce a straight malt whisky, a cask strength malt whisky, a Colorado honey whisky, a rum and two other types of gin.