Accidental Hedonist

So now we have a second gin in my final four, namely Plymouth English Gin, whose smoothness and restraint on the botanicals easily beat out the overly-alcoholic and overly-junipered Beefeater.

If you’re looking for a great example of what the idea of “balance” is in spirits, Plymouth Gin would be a great place to start.  No one specific flavor stands out, even with the usual obvious juniper sitting in the midst of their recipe. But here it words with the botanicals, rather than trying to compete with them.  On the back of the palate, I taste a bit of lemon, but that’s on the finish. It doesn’t dominate. Even the alcohol works in concert with the other ingredients, and it does not overpower. Plymouth is a wonderful gin, and Beefeater, with it’s one trick pony of a flavor profile, never really had a chance.

It’s a trite saying: There are no losers here, only winners. It’s meant to encourage the ones who lose and let them know that their efforts were appreciated. As sayings go, it’s both patronizing and trite.

But here at the Hedonist, in the competition between Bombay Sapphire vs. Plymouth Gin, there are no losers, because the rules of the game allow for the possibility of the readers choosing one gin, and the operator of this here site (i.e. me) to choose the other as better. This is exactly what has happened in this instance.

The readers chose Bombay Sapphire over Plymouth by a margin of 55% to 45%.

I, on the other hand, took a drink from from both and said, “Y’know, I like Plymouth better.”

I can’t explain the reasons behind the readers choice, but I can tell you what I was thinking.  But first, to let you know how I taste, a brief explanation. I put two ounces of each gin in different glasses, and then add two ounces of filtered water into each of those glasses. The water dilutes the alcohol just enough to reduce its tongue numbing qualities, and dilute the taste of the alcohol enough to let the flavors of the botanicals shine through. A 1:1 ratio of gin to water isn’t a perfect equalizer, but it does it’s job well enough for me.

At any rate, my notes were as follows:

Bombay Sapphire:

Aroma – A subtle citrus peel scent with the junipers sneaking in at the last minute.  I called the scent “cool”, which is difficult to qualify, I know. As weird as it sounds, it reminded me of a spring day.

Taste – The juniper comes in slowly, and then is overwhelmed by the other botanicals. There’s a definitive lemon/citrus taste, with a subtle bit of anise and floral taste.  The finish is pleasant and decrescendos nicely. This isn’t a bold gin, but a subtle one.

Plymouth Gin:

Aroma – Spicier than the Bombay Sapphire, with notable coriander and cardamom aromas, surrounded nicely by the juniper. As cool as the Bombay Sapphire was in its aroma, this gin is warm and inviting.

Taste –  The juniper is a little more prevalent here than in the Bombay Sapphire, but not by much. Unlike the Bombay Sapphire, its aroma is equitable to its taste, and I could pick out the flavors that I had sniffed previously.

Why did I pick Plymouth over Sapphire?

Really, it boils down to preference. Both are gins of good to great quality, and whatever flaws I perceived were none due to the crafting of either gin, but ones of my own personal taste. I picked Plymouth because I like spicy over floral, and I like the straightforward flavors over the nuances of Bombay Sapphire.

Or, to put it in more poetical terms, Bombay Sapphire reminded me of Spring, and Plymouth Gin reminded me of autumn. And I’ve always preferred the fall to the spring.

What Next?

I’ll have to update the bracket to reflect the readers choice, and add my own bracket to the list of topics.  And both Bombay Sapphire and Plymouth Gin will move on to the next round in each bracket, where they both will face off against Beefeaters.

Because I am an idiot, and I cannot read my own bracket, Junipero should not have gone against Plymouth in the First Round. Instead, that honor belongs to Bombay Sapphire.

I have since closed the previous poll, and am announcing  a restart, or “do over” to Round 2.  Luckily for me, the findings aren’t legally binding.

So, here we go – Do you like the classic Plymouth Gin, or the popular Bombay Sapphire?

[poll id="5"]

The Poll will last a week. Afterwards, I will announce the winner, update the brackets, and then give my own opinion.

And again, my apologies.

POLL CLOSED EARLY – as I am a moron and can’t read my own schedule -

To see what should have happened – look at the brackets.

Junipero is a small batch Gin made by the folks at Anchor Distillery:

Plymouth Gin is the classic gin that, legend has it, was the gin that was most associated with the martini.

[poll id="4"]

Polling will go on for a week, and I will supply my own results afterward.

I’m big into definitions. I love the clear boundaries that allow us to classify items in distinct ways. You would think this sounds obvious, and it is, to a point. Right up until someone asks you to provide a definition for, oh I don’t know, let’s say candy.

I make this point after reading the European Union’s definition of what is “Gin”. Which is to say, they don’t, other than to classify it under the term “Juniper-flavoured spirit drinks”, which helps me not at all. Why? Because the list of other Juniper-flavoured spirit drinks include the following:

Balegemse jenever, Genièvre / Jenever / Genever, Genièvre Flandres Artois, Genièvre de grains, Gin de Mahón, Hasseltse jenever / Hasselt, Inovecká borovička, Jonge jenever, Liptovská borovička, Oude jenever,  O´ de Flander-Oost-Vlaamse Graanjenever, Peket-Pekêt / Pèket-Pèkèt de Wallonie,  Plymouth Gin, Slovenská borovička, Slovenská borovička Juniperus, Spišská borovička, Steinhäger, and Vilniaus Džinas / Vilnius Gin

The problem is that most of these don’t come anywhere near the taste needed to make a good Martini, as anyone who has had a Oude jenever from the Netherlands could tell you. That’s not to say that these spirits wouldn’t make for interesting drinks when mixed with vermouth, it’s simply that Liptovská borovička plus vermouth does not make up a classic Martini.

This will not do. When we order a martini, we expect a specific kind of gin. So the question still remains – what kind of gin?

Instead of the EU, let’s look at the Code of Federal Regulations here in the United States, which proclaims in its regulations:

“Gin” is a product obtained by original distillation from mash, or by redistillation of distilled spirits, or by mixing neutral spirits, with or over juniper berries and other aromatics, or with or over extracts derived from infusions, percolations, or maceration of such materials, and includes mixtures of gin and neutral spirits. It shall derive its main characteristic flavor from juniper berries and be bottled at not less than 80° proof. Gin produced exclusively by original distillation or by redistillation may be further designated as “distilled”. “Dry gin” (London dry gin), “Geneva gin” (Hollands gin), and “Old Tom gin” (Tom gin) are types of gin known under such designations.

In other words, Gin is either distilled (or redistilled) from a mash that contains some grain as well as junipers, or it’s a neutral spirit (for example, vodka) that has has been infused with junipers some time after distilling has been completed.  Then they give three specific examples.

• Dry Gin – Also known London Dry Gin, it is a neutral spirit blended with botanicals, mainly juniper, but others as well. Being “Dry” it should not be sweet at all, and should have no coloring. There may be exceptions, which I hope to uncover soon.  Also called “Distilled Gin”, a designation which is horribly misleading, as all gin is distilled in some sense or another.
• Geneva Gin – A designation which is as annoying as “Chai Tea” because Geneva Gin means “Gin Gin”, it’s better known to us as Dutch Gin. These are the gins that use the initial recipes and distilling techniques as a basic definition, resulting in a very strong, somewhat rough drink. Simply put, if you don’t know whether you’ve had Dutch Gin or not, you probably haven’t.
• Old Tom Gin – A style of gin that’s somewhat rare (in fact, the State of Washington only lists 4 types of Old Tom Gin, and 3 of them are out of stock.) This is a gin that’s essentially a Dutch gin with extra botanicals and other flavorings.