Sam's Kitchen

Every now and then we have tastings here at The Coastguard, however, it occurred to me in these days of political correctness we weren’t being particularly inclusive to our virtual regulars.  Whilst the ‘in body’ type locals are happily sipping away, those stuck at the end of a computer a million miles away from being stuck to the end of our bar, were somewhat at a disadvantage.  That is until now.  No, I haven’t found a way of sending ether down the ether so to speak but in these days where aspiration lifestyles are more important than taste itself, I thought we’d go about it by picking on a few good old fashioned bottles of mother’s ruin and deciding which was the best based on their history, drinking partners and circumstance (marketing or otherwise!!)

We’ve four different gins behind the bar so let’s start with the infamous Gordon’s.  Apart from being linked to an alleged adulterer, it’s probably the best known of the lot and certainly one of the oldest, made by a chap by the name of Alexander Gordon in 1769.  Distilled no less than 3 times, it’s made with a secret recipe of botanical herbs and the bottle cap bears the symbol of a boar’s head.  Apparently, whilst out hunting, one of the original Gordon clan saved the King of Scotland from a wild boar and in reward the king gave permission to use the head as the family symbol.  Jolly generous too, considering the Scots! 

Now, Tanqueray, first made in 1830 by the son of a vicar, is distilled even more times, four to be exact. Along with the ever present secret recipe gimmick beloved by all drinks manufactures, it also sports a crest; this time two battle axes and a pineapple – yep, you heard.  Obviously, the pineapple is the universal symbol of hospitality (no, really apparently it is!!) and the axes come from the family’s adventures with Richard the Loin Heart.   Tanqueray is also associated with famous seducers – it was allegedly the gin of choice at Rat Pack parties and at the White House were it was used in the first Martini made to celebrate the end of prohibition.  For some reason, I always think of James Bond when I drink Tanqueray – no idea why as I’m sure if there was a connection the marketing bods would have jumped on it…. 

Beefeater is the less assuming of the lot, it doesn’t enter the distillation race and is fairly straight laced in it’s claim to fame, namely being the only gin available on the maiden voyage of the QE2 to New York (it doesn’t mention anything about coming back!).  There’s no mystery to it’s bottle other than being named after the guards at the Tower of London and it’s even open about it’s ingredients – botanicals as everyone else seem to call them – bitter almonds, coriander seeds, orange peel, juniper…. The list goes on.  They don’t seem to give quantities though, so a tad difficult to replicate in the kitchen sink.

We’re back to secret recipes again with the last gin – Hendricks – the relatively new kid on the block – although it does give cucumber and rose petals, (Bulgarian to be precise) as some of it’s more usual ingredients.  A small batched gin, it’s made in a Carter Head Still, one of only 4 in the world (don’t tell me, the others are owned by Gordon’s, Beefeater……) which is looked after by a team of full time coppersmiths no less.  Apparently, the drink of the season was a tea time martini made with Hendricks, rose petal jam, lemon and mint served in a teacup martini glass (a ceramic tea cup stuck on a glass martini stem).  It doesn’t have a crest or a symbol but…. The bottle is based on an old apothecary’s jar to make you feel it will cure all ills. 

So, there you have it.  Only you can decide.  Should you transport yourself to the QE2, rub shoulders with the Rat Pack, sip it in a teacup or have it handy in your hipflask should you happen upon a wild pig.  Let your imagination run wild and before you know it you’ll have a favourite gin without even tasting a drop.  Surely that’s taking responsible drinking just a tad too far…..