The Alchemist (3): Dom Costa and Hendrick’s Gin

Dom Costa conducted the third master class at Hotel Adriano’s Gin Corner with his astute smile and chatty manner. The low tables at Italy’s most famous gin bar were filled with small glasses for a sensorial itinerary to discover and deconstruct Hendrick’s Gin for which Dom Costa is Brand Ambassador.

This was another lesson in the history of gin that went back to when juniper was used as a doping agent by athletes of the distant past and, much earlier, when the precious berries were inserted into the body during the mummification process in Ancient Egypt. In 18th century London, gin was a powerful spirit that claimed many victims, even killing children. Dom Costa spoke of a society plagued by alcohol addiction, where drunken parents would abandon their children in gin shops and they, too, then became addicted. In 1791, 9,000 children died from alcohol poisoning. To combat this, taxes on spirits were imposed along with bans on serving to minors and licenses were needed to both serve and produce the distilled spirit. In the middle of the 19th century tonic water came into play, patented by Erasmus Bond, and became the perfect partner for gin. Tonic water is a mixture of water and quinine that was used in the 18th century to treat malaria among soldiers. Because quinine was so bitter, it was mixed with gin to enhance the soldiers to drink it. And this is how the world’s most famous gin cocktail was invented, what is today a great classic: the Gin Tonic.

Back at Gin corner, we embarked on a very interesting tasting to deconstruct and identify the distinctive characteristics of Hendrick’s, a tasting that was much like those where you taste from barrels the wines that will be blended into a great wine.

Hendrick’s is a particular gin, produced in the Ayrshire region of Scotland, which is the product of a double distillation using two different stills, a Carter-Head and a Bennet. The first has flavor basket on top into which the botanicals are placed without being emerged into the spirit, while in a Bennet still the botanicals steep in the liquid for 24 hours. The two spirits are later blended together with the addition of Bulgarian rose essence and cucumber, two elements that make Hendrick’s distinctive.

A total of 11 botanicals are used, some of which are unusual: achillea, coriander, juniper, chamomile, cubeb berries, elderflower, orange peel, lemon peel, Angelica root, iris root and an infusion of Damascene rose petals and cucumber.

COMPONENT TASTING 

Bennet still spirit : the aroma is strong and intense and the various botanicals are recognizable. Adding water brings out floral notes and makes everything more aromatic.

Carter-Head spirit : the aroma is more delicate, floral and elegant.

Blended spirit : this is like the blend of two different grape varieties. The flavor and aromas complement each other creating a floral and complex spirit, one that is aromatic and citrusy and that, with the addition of water, becomes more balanced. The later addition of rose essence and cucumber create the trademark of this fresh and floral gin.

We ended with a Gin Tonic with a cucumber froth that was thirst-quenching, fresh and very summery.

Note: the use of ice in cocktails: Dom Costa surprised many when he explained the proper amount of ice allowed to avoid watering down a cocktail. The fewer ice cubes used, he said, the more the drink will be watered down, while a lot of ice is needed to keep it from melting. This now may seem obvious, but until then I didn’t know this. Did you?

Related Articles