When it comes to spirits gin is my favorite. One reason is it comes closest to perfume in its use of botanical ingredients. Even in its dry form gin has an aroma of juniper, coriander, and citrus. Over the last ten years there has been a rapid expansion in small-batch distilleries featuring Old Tom gin containing a higher quantity of botanicals. I have lots of them and use them in all kinds of different gin-based cocktails. All of these new gins to discover have had the same effect new perfume does; it pushes to the rear of the cabinet the originals which formed the foundation of my affection. Towards the end of this past summer I was reminded of the first botanical gin which started all of this; Hendrick’s Gin.
Hendrick’s was the British response to the dry gin so popular for decades. The founders wanted to make a gin that oozed British garden parties. They decided to add cucumber and rose petals to the distillation process. That process is two-stage. The first producing the typical dry gin while the second adds in the unique botanicals.
I became aware of Hendrick’s when the mixologist at my local bar asked me if I wanted to try something new in my pre-dinner martini. When I lifted it to my nose and caught the scent of roses I was intrigued. The taste which hit my tongue was totally different. I would spend that summer trying it in different gin cocktails learning the advantages to having a botanical gin as the main ingredient.
As I mentioned the sexy new bottles on the block eventually eclipsed the elegant black bottle on my spirits shelf. Until I was reminded a few weeks ago it is every bit as good as these contemporary interlopers.
It started when I forgot my cocktail box on a long weekend trip to a friend’s beach house. At first, I was annoyed at myself. We stopped at a liquor store on our way but the only botanical gin they had on their shelf was Hendrick’s. I was a touch disappointed, but I knew it was a good gin.
What happened over the next few days was I reacquainted myself with the original botanical gin. I was reminded that latest does not necessarily mean better. Hendrick’s was more than a stand-in it was the star of the weekend. I was surprised at how many had never tried it. When I served them their gin and tonic with a cucumber instead of a lime, I got a quizzical look until they took a sip.
It is another reminder to look back to the originals because they are where trends begin.
Disclosure: I purchased the bottle written about.
–Mark Behnke
