Here are a few Alberta gins with unique character:
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Gin
Copper Cork Distillery Rhuby Gin, Vermilion Ochre colour, sweet, with a berry-rhubarb flavour. CSPC +828150, $38
BY DAVID NUTTALL
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”
G
- Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca (1942).
in had its beginnings as a medieval medicinal remedy in several cultures that had established distilling practices and had access to juniper berries. Eventually, it reached northern Europe where “Genever” became popularized by the Dutch in the 13th century. The word itself is an English shortening of the Dutch word for juniper. Through the late 1500s, British troops fighting against the Spanish in the Dutch War of Independence found the juniper-flavoured spirit they drank gave them what was called “Dutch courage” in battle. In 1688, Dutch Protestant William of Orange and his English wife Mary became co-rulers of England after
the “Glorious Revolution” drove James II from the throne, and he proceeded to inhibit the importation of brandy and wine from Catholic countries by attaching high tariffs and taxes to the products. To fill this void, he abolished taxes and licensing fees for grain spirits such as gin and, by the early 1700s, London had become the gin-producing capital of the world. With the British Navy exporting gin around the globe to help suppress the bitterness of the quinine-containing tonic water they drank to prevent malaria in foreign outposts, one of the earliest and most famous mixed drinks was born. By 1850, the less sweet London Dry had become the most popular style of gin. continued on page 36
34 Culinaire | September 2020
Troubled Monk Epitaph Blue Gin, Red Deer Light, floral violet notes and a dark blue colour. CSPC +819966, $45
Wild Life Distillery Barrel-aged Gin, Canmore Bourbon meets gin with a light amber colour. CSPC +812647, $56
