The Alchemist (1): Gin

A gray and gloomy London street on the outskirts of the city. On a staircase is a hunched over woman with an absent gaze is visibly drunk and holds a baby in her arms. Here and there are other sad and drunk remnants of humanity. The date is 1751 and this is Gin Lane as depicted by William Hogarth in an etching to denounce the new ‘drug’ of the time: gin. The gin of that era has nothing to do with the distilled spirits we know today but was a terrible mixture of turpentine and sulphuric acid, a poison that could intoxicate as well as kill you.

Gin has evolved significantly over the years from the 18th century drug abused in London to the fine distilled spirits of today. In the past it also was used for medicinal purposes thanks the curative and diuretic properties of the juniper berry.

Gin today is a distilled spirit made from grain mash aromatized by juniper berries. This, at least, is the base product which is then enriched from the distiller’s palette of assorted aromatic ingredients know as botanicals to create unique concoctions.

The Gin Corner at the Adriano Hotel held the first Master Class in this versatile spirit that becomes intriguing with the employment of spices, roots and herbs of all kinds. These gins are experienced using the nose and mouth but also ears, listening to the fascinating tales about a world that for someone, better acquainted with wine, is totally new.

Plymuth Gin 

In an old Dominican convent near the port is the Black Friars distiller that produces this gin that was created on the sea and maintains a particular connection with it. The port of Plymouth, in fact, was a home for the Royal Navy and on the gin’s label is a picture of the Mayflower, the famous ship that set sail from Plymouth in 1620 to bring to the Pilgrim Fathers to America. They say that when the ship no longer ‘floats on the water’, in other words the gin level, then it is time to buy another bottle. Plymouth gin is one of the very few gins in the world to have geographic indication classification, similar to those used for wine.

Plymouth gin tasting: 

Botanicals: juniper berries, coriander seeds, Seville orange peel, lemon peel, green cardamom, angelica root and iris root.

The aroma is clean, distinct and balsamic with scents of citrus and juniper. The mouthfeel has sweet sensations and earthy ones of angelica root and fruity citrus notes.

Beefeater Gin 

London is on the label and this is the only gin that is still distilled in the city itself. It was created by James Burrough, a descendant of an old family of pharmacists in decline. In order to lift his family’s declining fortunes, in 1863 he acquired a company specialized in the distillation of spirits and decided to produce gin. Beefeater gin came out on the market in 1876 and its label, too, has a story to it. The gin is, in fact, named after the ‘beef-eaters’, a name given to the Queen’s guards who, thanks to their position, could eat meat regularly, something not common at the time. On the old label the Beefeater was more corpulent, whereas today he is taller and thinner.

The top-of-the-line gin, Beefeater 24, was created by the master distiller Desmond Payne and inspired by a tea catalogue that belonged to the distillery’s founder, who traded with Asia where there was particular demand for his transparent spirit. This gin has Beefeater’s traditional nine botanicals plus three other ingredients: two teas, Chinese green tea and Japanese Sencha tea, and grapefruit peel. The label has the number 24 on it and this refers to the number of hours the botanicals are immersed in the liquid.

Beefeater 24 tasting: 

The nose is clean and distinctly herbal, the mouthfeel is slightly tannic and aromatic and has a citrus imprint.