Lightly Aged Gin
This New Gin Trend Is A Throwback To The Old Days - But The Taste Is What Has Us Excited
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Of all the spirits to receive a facelift over the past decade, gin has probably been the most face-liftedest. Once a brutally harsh old-man drink that gave frat boys headaches (when drunk on the cheap), the juniper-driven spirit with a 500-year legacy became an anchor of the craft cocktail revolution in the mid-2000s. Then came New Western Dry gin, a revival of Old Tom (sweetened) and a virtual cornucopia of brands at the liquor store. So why hasn't anyone thrown this stuff in an oak barrel to see what happens? Turns out they have, and you should be checking it out.
"Once upon a time, most if not all gin was 'rested,'" says New York Distilling founder Allen Katz. His company makes the intriguing Chief Gowanus New-Netherland Gin, which sits in oak for three months before bottling. "Storing gin and other spirits in barrels was the best, most affordable way to keep it before glass bottles became the standard." Thus, many early tipplers were sipping barrel-aged Gin and Tonics before it was a thing (they also often had twirly mustaches).
These days, people are taking the aging component more seriously. They want to see what it does to their botanical-flavored spirit when it sits on wood for a few months. The results are remarkable. The botanicals mellow, round out and re-combine to create a golden, pastoral nectar in your glass. While most are too enigmatic for a straight-forward martini, they do wonders in a Gin and Tonic or Martinez, or as replacements for tequila and whiskey in other classic cocktails. Even if you're not a gin fan (again — stay away from the cheap stuff), it's time to give it a second chance with these expressions.
Beefeater Burrough's Select Gin: From the fertile mind of Beefeater distiller Desmond Payne, this gin, released last year, bills itself as "the gin for freethinkers." The limited-run product takes the basic Beefeater botanicals and distills the juice in the brand's original 19th century Still Number 12. It's dropped in Jean de Lillet French Oak barrels (very hard to come by) for six months. The result is a round, lush, light-gold spirit. It's gin, yes. But the juniper pulls back, and floral and licorice notes come forward. Pairs beautifully with lemon or lime for a Gin Sour or Gin Daisy. 43% ABV, $70
Citadelle Reserve 2013: If anyone should know gin, it's the French. Seriously: In the 1500s and 1600s, when England was still trying to become a world superpower, France *was* one. They were shipping genever (and later gin) from the Netherlands to the now gin-thirsty British. Today, Cognac producer Alexandre Gabriel is making some of the best gin outside London, and he says "yellow gin" was first made 120 years ago. His Citadelle Reserve vintage (first released in 2008) this time employs a solera approach (like sherry) to aging: add new unaged gin to a small amount of the constantly aging product to create a complex, light-golden manna. This one is still juniper-bright, with round notes of angelica, sweetness and citrus. Sip on its own or use in place of rum in a Daiquiri. 44% ABV, $35
Chief Gowanus New-Netherland: Allen Katz at the New York Distilling Company is big on history, releasing a navy strength gin and a rock-and-rye when no one else was getting around to it. Collaborating with drinks historian David Wondrich, Katz dove deep into New York City's Dutch heritage for original gin/genever recipes, which apparently including barrel resting the finished product for three months to round out the botanical notes. "The trick is to not let it rest too much so you lose the context of the spirit," says Katz. Featuring the company's unaged rye (instead of the usual grain-neutral spirit) as the base, juniper berries and American cluster hops (the genever part), the finished product is earthy and spicy, mellow and rough. Just like the early Dutch settlers. Sip over ice or blend with bold mixers like absinthe and orange liqueur (see recipe below). 44% ABV, $35
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