Breaking Down the Botanicals

Breaking Down Botanicals

With the gin craze in full swing, and great distillers from across the globe experimenting with an array of botanicals, it was fitting to get some of the most well known industry heads together for a tasting of the famed juniper spirit. The panel consisted of Ben Davidson, Drinks Curator at Drinks World, Mikey Enright owner of Sydney’s dedicated gin bar The Barbershop, David Nguyen-Luu manager of The Barbershop, gin lover and one of Drinks World’s top 25 Australia bartenders Petr Dvoracek, and Gee David, National Training Manager of SouthTrade International.

Here’s an array of gins we have chosen to profile. Aiming for a varied selection, including both the London Dry style and “New World” style, seven gins were tasted.

Let’s deconstruct some of these gins and highlight the botanicals that contribute to their aroma and flavours. In addition, our panel has also chosen a variety of Fever-Tree tonics they thought were ideal to pair the gins with.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE

Starting out with one of the most well known London Dry gins, produced in one of the most, if not the most, sustainable and eco-friendly distilleries in the world in Laverstoke, UK.

Bombay Sapphire is famed for not only its iconic blue bottle, but also the Grains of Paradise. A relative of the ginger plant, these are seeds that offer a spectrum of flavour from a peppery bite to light lavender notes as well as a long finish. Like any gin, Bombay Sapphire uses juniper berries at the heart of their botanical recipe, sourcing the juniper from the hills of Tuscany. In addition, Bombay uses lemon peel to lift other botanicals, coriander for a warm ginger-like spice, as well as cubeb berries that are part of the pepper family but have a much more floral aroma, orris root and almonds.

PANEL TALK : The industry panel was unanimous in deciphering peppery and herbaceous notes from Bombay Sapphire with quite a light nose. The gin had hints of liquorice with an earthy character. Citrus is quite low in Bombay Sapphire, with a bit of sweetness and fruit spice complimented with cassia leading to sweetness. Bombay Sapphire is quite savoury and earthy.

Owner of the Barbershop in Sydney and gin fanatic Mikey Enright highlighted that the Grains of Paradise are one of the notable botanicals that you can taste in Bombay Sapphire.

MIX WITH: As Bombay is a classic London Dry Gin, it is perfectly paired with Indian Tonic from Fever-Tree, with it’s clean and refreshing taste of botanical oils and the highest quality natural quinine.

Owner of the Barbershop in Sydney and gin fanatic Mike Enright highlighted that the Grains of Paradise are one of the notable botanicals that you can taste in Bombay Sapphire.

FOUR PILLARS RARE DRY GIN

Four Pillars wanted to create a gin that’s representative of modern Australia, making a clean, classic, spiced gin that is lifted with citrus. Using European juniper berries and spices from South East Asia and the Middle East, as well as two Australian native botanicals; lemon myrtle and Tasmanian pepperberry. Four Pillars use cinnamon and star anise to add spice, and round that out with lavender and angelic root. Cassia and coriander seeds are also present. Lemon myrtle provides an alternative to using lemon peel. Drinks Curator of Drinks World and industry legend Ben Davidson was fond of Four Pillars Rare Dry, noting that it has, “A balance of floral notes with an earthy flavour, making it a very well balanced gin”.

PANEL TALK: Orris root is present with an earthy character and flavour. There are hints of pepperberry coming through, with good mouth feel and citrus. Of note is Four Pillars’ use of whole oranges in distilling, instead of orange peel, bringing out citrus notes. An earthy balance made with Aussie botanicals give this gin a varied flavour from the classic London Dry style.

MIX WITH: Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin pairs perfectly with Fever-Tree’s Mediterranean Tonic, with its fruit, herb, and floral flavours from the Mediterranean complimenting the Australian botanicals and earthy character of the gin.

ROGUE SOCIETY GOLDI LOCKS

Hailing from New Zealand, Rogue Society consists of 13 botanicals – lemon peel, orange peel, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, nutmeg, juniper (of course), cloves, angelica root, liquorice root, orris root, cinnamon sticks, cassia bark and tangerine.

Goldi Locks is a blend of exotic botanicals and glacial New Zealand water, distilled in a copper pot still. At 57% ABV this is a stronger New Zealand Dry Gin – coming in at Navy strength. The addition of tangerine in Goldi Locks gives it a balanced citrus note, coming across as a classic dry style.

PANEL TALK: Dried tangerine provide a citrus hit. Mikey Enright commented that Rogue Society Goldi Locks is “Well balanced on the nose with similarities to vodka”. Lower on the juniper hit and larger on the citrus it has some sweetness at the front. More of a classic dry style gin that leads with citrus, and the higher alcohol elevating the citrus flavours.

MIX WITH: Goldi Locks is complemented nicely with Fever-Tree’s Light Tonic, combining natural fruit sugars and quinine with citrus and aromatic botanicals to balance the high strength dry and citrus style of gin.

WEST WINDS THE CUTLASS

The West Winds Cutlass, made in Western Australia is a handcrafted small batch gin at 50% ABV, with the addition of Australian bush tomato, pairing up with coriander seed to produce a headstrong aromatic and very drinkable gin. Other Australian native ingredients include cinnamon myrtle, and lemon myrtle, which sit alongside traditional juniper berries.

PANEL TALK: Gin lover, bartender Petr Dvoracek noted, “Although it’s quite punchy, it doesn’t nose like a strong spirit”. The Cutlass is peppery, with a hint of a red snapper cocktail and Australian botanicals coming through. The strength comes through on the palate, not harsh but a savoury mix that brings out the natives ingredients. A garnish of green capsicum wouldn’t be out of place with The Cutlass.

MIX WITH: Another high strength gin, The Cutlass pairs fantastically with the Elderflower Tonic from Fever-Tree. The light and subtle character with sweet elderflower and soft bitterness works in unison with the native botanicals and punch of this gin.

BEEFEATER 24

The second of our London Dry gins in the tasting, Beefeater 24 is a citrus-led style, very gentle on the nose with three citrus botanicals of orange, lemon and grapefruit. It has a classic London Dry flavour. The addition of two types of green tea – Japanese sencha and Chinese green tea are used in Beefeater 24, giving it light tannins and a green, grassy, seaweed character. Grapefruit peel brings out the signature Beefeater citrus flavour. Coriander, angelica and liquorice root and orris root are present, contributing some bittersweet spice notes and floral characters.

PANEL TALK: Soft notes of juniper, orange and cinnamon on the nose. Dry on the palate. Orris and angelica root are identifiable. This is a classic dry gin with hints of sencha coming through.

MIX WITH: To go with Beefeater 24, Fever-Tree’s Lemon Tonic, made with Sicilian lemons brings out the citrus notes of this London Dry gin and contrasts the sencha.

ARCHIE ROSE DISTILLER’S STRENGTH

From one of Sydney’s finest distilleries, the Distiller’s Strength expression is Archie Rose’s higher proof gin that takes notes from Navy Strength gin, with a twist. This version is bolder and stronger but retains balance. Archie Rose distils each of their 15 botanicals separately, ensuring clarity when extracting the botanical flavours.

PANEL TALK: Very dry, earthy notes. Mikey Enright says,“It’s like sticking your head in the soil”. Savoury on the nose, with big orris root notes, it has quite a nice dryness with juniper coming through. Barbershop manager David Nguyen-Luu feels it shows hints of fresh pear, rose, and local honey.

Gee David of SouthTrade International added that the Archie Rose Distiller’s Strength has a “Nice touch of liquorice”.

Savoury on the nose with a well-balanced mouth feel, the strength helps with a long finish.

MIX WITH: Another high strength gin that works perfectly with Elderflower Tonic from Fever-Tree. The boldness and dryness of this gin is offset by the delicate and sweet elderflower flavours.

INK GIN

Created on the northern rivers of NSW, Ink Gin from Husk Distillers is a small batch, organic infused Australian craft gin. Ink strays away from being clear, deriving a purple, violet hue from a deep infusion of petals from an exotic blue flower. It has no artificial colours and no preservatives.

PANEL TALK: Citrus flavours are present with some sweetness with elderflower. Ben Davidson noted that, “On the nose, it’s similar to a cocktail such as an Aviation”. Ink Gin is sweet but with hints of Tasmanian pepperberry, elderflower and chamomile. The panel found that Ink to be a little less complex than some of the other gins.

MIX WITH: Pairing Ink gin with Fever-Tree’s Lemon Tonic allows the sweetness of the gin to be contrasted with the beautiful citrus and oils from Sicilian lemons.

PANEL’S PICKS FEVER-TREE TONIC MATCHES

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE – Indian Dry Tonic FOUR PILLARS RARE DRY – Mediterranean Tonic BEEFEATER 24 – Lemon Tonic

ARCHIE ROSE DISTILLER’S

STRENGTH – Elderflower Tonic ROGUE SOCIETY GOLDI LOCKS – Light Tonic WEST WINDS THE CUTLASS – Elderflower Tonic HUSK DISTILLERS INK GIN – Lemon Tonic