GIN IS GETTING A WAKE-UP CALL
Gin is back as an important cocktail ingredient.

Gin has been asleep for longer than Rip Van Winkle, and the cocktail world has evolved more startlingly and evocatively than did the American Colonies of Rip’s time.

Pay attention. Gin is stirring.

“There is an increased emergence of artisanal, small batch gins,” says Dan Hoffman, director of equipment and beverage specifications, lodging food & beverage, for Marriott. “Each plays up the flavors of botanicals in creative ways that change the style, with less emphasis on juniper.”

He particularly notes:
• Aviation Gin, a full-bodied Dutch style gin, created from the passion for the culinary artistry found in spirits shared by Lee Medoff and Christian Krogstad of House Spirits Distillery in Portland, Oregon, and mixologist Ryan Magarian of Liquid Kitchen in Seattle.
• Junipero, a very small batch London Dry style gin, with its own secret selection of botanicals, produced by Fritz Maytag’s Anchor Distilling in San Francisco.
• Caden Head Old Raj, a gin with a hint of saffron surfacing.

“What’s happening seems to be a replay, on a small scale, of the arrival of single malt Scotch decades ago. It’s an exciting time for gin,” Hoffman says.

“Create new cocktails that build on the botanical flavors, add unique garnishes that can be eaten along with the drink—a cucumber slice, pickled items to some extent—and offer a bar menu offood items selected to complement the cocktails.

This keeps guests in a beverage venue for more than one cocktail. Artisanal mixers such as Stirrings are excellent companions for these gins. Made from fresh fruit and triple distilled water, Stirrings flavors are available in sevenounce bottles. It’s great for club service,” Hoffman notes.

Another small batch artisanal mixer, Elixir G Ginger Mix, was recently introduced to raves from the industry. Perfect Beverages LLC constantly samples ginger from worldwide sources to provide a dynamic mixer, with no added ingredients. A little goes a long way—adding a 1/4 ounce to 4 ounces of lemon-lime soda gives you an intensely flavored ginger ale. Mixologists should enjoy working with this.

MASTER MIXOLOGIST
U.S. Master Mixologist James Moreland agrees with Dan Hoffman that food should complement your cocktails.

Eight years ago, Moreland left Europe for New York, “the Mecca for cocktails,” he says. During four of those years he was the head bartender for Town Bar in Manhattan’s Chambers Hotel and for its sister restaurant/bar, Country. Town Bar has been described in reviews as populated by the “‘Sex and the City’ crowd.” When not at these establishments, he consulted with leading restaurants and hotels to create state-ofthe- art cocktail programs.

“Almost from day one, I was fascinated by gin and its ability to open up the appetite. It’s the only spirit that does,” Moreland says. “I believe it has to do with the exquisite marriage of botanicals and spirits. To me, Bombay Sapphire Gin best captures this essence and I was very happy to be asked to represent Bombay Sapphire Gin as its U.S. Brand Ambassador.”

As such, he regularly meets with hotel food and beverage executives to consult on creating cocktail and food pairings for their bars. “At a hotel bar, you have access to a large kitchen that can be tapped for a world of ingredients and/or unique foods for just the right cocktail accompaniment,” Moreland adds. “For instance, pour equal parts of Dry Sack Sherry and gin over ice in a rocks glass, add a splash of soda, and pair with a serving of scallops. Delicious.”

Another unexpected cocktail combination that is scintillating is combining 1 ounce of tawny port wine, 1 ounce of sweet vermouth and 3/4 ounce of gin. Stir well with ice and strain into a martini glass. Excellent alone or paired with dessert.

BEEFEATER, FIRST NAME OF THE MARTINI
You wouldn’t know it now because vodka has taken over the martini call, but in the 1950s and 1960s, the call was predominantly for a Beefeater Martini.

Today, however, you could say that Beefeater is the first name of the “Tonic.” With Beefeater Gin increasingly appearing in the well at upscale and midscale hotel bars, the Gin and Tonic is often a Beefeater and Tonic. Bartenders enjoy the look of pleasant surprise on some guests’ faces when they spot the label.

THE NIGHTCLUB & BAR SHOW
A new line of artisanal mixers was introduced by MIXERZ. Al Williams and Mark Mahoney, known for their Maui Beverages line of all natural fruit purées for smoothies and frozen cocktails, developed this line of all natural mixers with no genetically modified ingredients.

Inspired by the rapidly increasing cadre of bartender-chefs worldwide, they searched for the finest quality of fresh ingredients to create cocktail mixers that would be as fine as the finest spirits they would be joining.

All are prepared in 200-gallon batches to ensure this level of quality. An example of the care that is taken is the three-foot-bythree- foot fresh mint stuffed “tea bag,” suspended for six hours in a pure cane sugar bath that becomes part of their Mojito MIXERZ.

“We believe our line, which includes Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Bloody Mary, and Margarita, is exceptionally fitted for fine banquet and catering events” says Mahoney. “Our Pomegranate, Mango, and Sour Apple are outstanding for bar service, not only for their pure flavors but for being alcohol- free and lowering the overall proof of the cocktails being served.”

CLEMENT RHUM
Rhum Clement introduced two new products. One, a super-premium rum from Martinique, Clement VSOP Rhum, is aged for one year in Cognac barrels followed by three years in recharred bourbon barrels, giving it a very distinctive flavor. The other, Clement Liqueur Creole Shrubb, is a blend of white and aged rums infused with bitter orange peel and pulp and creole spices.

LEBLON CACHACA
Leblon Cachaca is distilled in Alambique copper stills in Brazil from the juice of sugar cane, then shipped to France for slight aging in Cognac casks to smooth the spirit.

CONSULTING MIXOLOGIST
Junior Merino is an extraordinary mixologist who created the following signature drinks for these spirits.

TROPICAL CARNIVAL
1 strawberry, quartered
2 slices of English cucumber
1/2 lime
3/4 ounce simple syrup
Muddle in a mixer
Add 1-1/2 ounce Leblon Cachaca
Shake well with ice and pour into a tall glass. Top with 1/2 ounce Champagne.

BEYOND PASSION
1-1/2 ounce Clement VSOP Rhum
1/2 ounce Clement Liqueur Creole Shrubb
1/2 ounce passion fruit purée
1 ounce pomegranate juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
6 tarragon leaves
Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well, and strain into a martini glass.

Dave Steadman is editor and associate publisher, HOTEL WINE, BEER & SPIRITS.