Top 5 Gins

We have a game we play sometimes, if the conversation starts to lag a bit.

It’s called “Top 5…”.

Someone announces the category (like “Top 5 biscuits” or “Top 5 crisp flavours”) and everyone debates their favourites. It’s more fun than it sounds – try it!

Anyway, I thought I’d give it a whirl with gin.

It’s too hard. I couldn’t choose a top 5 without overlooking a favourite. So I changed the rules, and introduced categories.

This is what I’ve come up with so far:

House gin: Portobello Rd

You really can’t beat Portobello for value and chameleonic adaptability.

Specifically designed to work in both Negroni and Martini, it’s a classic gin-drinkers gin; balancing juniper and citrus with a pleasing peppery finish.

Prestige quality at supermarket prices, there’s a reason it’s a common “house” gin, my house included.

I nearly chose: Langley’s No. 8

Small batch gin: Daffy’s

The beautiful bottle and packaging is the first thing you’ll notice about Daffy’s. Don’t worry though, the contents are even better.

I nearly chose: Slingsby

Spicy gin: Whitley Neil

I love the gentle spice of Whitley Neil in a Negroni. To my palette it perfectly complements the orangey bittersweet balance of my favourite cocktail.

I nearly chose: Hmm, not really a strong second here.

Floral gin: Bloom

Another lovely bottle, and a great subtle gin inside. It’s a gentle, aromatic, affair; best enjoyed in a G&T or any drink that allows the gin room to breathe.

I nearly chose: Rock Rose

Old Tom gin: Hayman’s Old Tom

There are some cocktails that just don’t work with London Dry, so having a bottle of Old Tom in the house is a must.

I nearly chose: Jensen’s Old Tom

Do you disagree?

Good.

This is not supposed to be the definitive answer. The joy of Top 5ing is passionately debating things that can’t possibly have a right or wrong answer. I probably don’t even agree with myself.

So what are your Top 5?

Gin della Nonna

• 50ml Old Tom Gin
• 150ml infused milk

Shake with ice and strain into a tall chilled glass. Float thin strips of lemon zest and a couple of toasted pine nuts on the surface.

What’s the idea?

This is basically a slight variation on Gin and milk, using milk infused with vanilla, lemon zest, and pine nuts.

The inspiration is the delicious Torta della Nonna, an Italian dessert.

For the infused milk you’ll need:

• 500ml Whole milk
• Zest of half a lemon
• Half a vanilla pod (split)
• 1tsp sugar or honey
• A handful of toasted pine nuts

Add everything to a saucepan, bring to a fast simmer, then turn the heat off and leave for at least 30 minutes to infuse. Strain and store in the fridge until needed.

  

The drink

Like Gin & Milk, the shaken whole milk gives this an amazing smooth fluffy texture. 

The infused milk is sweet, fragrant, and biscuity; and the gin just cuts through to make this a proper grown-up drink.

 

Gin and Milk

 

• 50ml Old Tom Gin
• 200ml Whole Milk

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass. Sprinkle on some ground nutmeg.

Since I’m working on a variant of this, I thought I’d share the classic gin and milk.

Simultaneously louche and comforting, this is a drink that deserves revival.

The ingredients are simple, but there’s not much room for variation. Old Tom gin is essential because of its softer, sweeter, profile. I like Hayman’s or Jensen’s.

Whole milk is a must as well. If you’ve never experienced the cool velvety fluff of whole milk shaken with ice then you’re in for a treat!

Sloe Season

• 450g Sloes
• 1 litre Gin
• 100g Sugar

Freeze the sloes overnight to break down the skins. Combine sloes, sugar, and gin in bottles or jars. Store somewhere dark and turn daily…or whenever you remember.

Sloe season is here. Which means it’s time to get foraging!

If you’ve never made sloe gin, you really should. It’s easy and delicious. It also somehow makes you feel vaguely virtuous, in a Good Life self-sufficiency sort of way.

 
This recipe has a lot less sugar than some, but it still works really well. Sipsmith even recommend not putting any sugar in at all, to get the most out of the sloes.

Top tip is definitely freezing rather than pricking the sloes, and make sure you use decent gin.

Sea Squall

• 50ml Gin
• 50ml Pink grapefruit juice
• Hefty dash Cranberry bitters
• Dash Grapefruit bitters
• Pinch of sea salt

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with a grapefruit twist.

What’s all this about?

The RNLI are doing something called “Fish Supper“—you invite your friends round for tea and then tap them up for a donation.

Sounds like a good idea, so we thought we’d give it a whirl.

At some point I’ll probably need to decide what food to make, but naturally my first priority is booze.

A cocktail to get everyone in the mood. Something redolent of the sea. But what?
Sea Breeze would be an obvious choice, but for me often risks tipping into 90s cocktail “one shot of vodka and half a pint of juice” territory.

Salty Dog is a bit more to the point, and a bit of reading quickly revealed that it was originally gin-based rather than vodka-based. Now we’re talking.

So was born the Sea Squall: a bit lighter on the juice, red grapefruit rather than white, a pinch of salt in the drink instead of a rim, and a dash of cranberry bitters that nods to the Sea Breeze. Not bad at all.

 

The ingredients

Daffy’s Gin, which is new to me but has catapulted itself near the top of my list of favourite gins. Portobello Rd would also have been an excellent choice, and a natural fit for grapefruit (it is their signature serve, after all).

Fee Brothers Cranberry bitters – delicious, and not too bitter, these add loads of depth.

The Bitter Truth Grapefruit bitters – use with care (they really are bitter), but adds a lovely sharpness to boost (hopefully) the briny quality I’m shooting for.

Sea Salt – I’m hoping this bit is self-explanatory.

Martinez

• 50ml Gin
• 25ml Sweet vermouth
• 5ml Maraschino
• Dash Angostura Bitters
• Dash Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Serve with a lemon twist.

History and variations

I wanted to start with a classic. The history of the Martinez is a bit murky, but it seems to date from the mid nineteenth century. There are lots of variations.

It’s probably a little more authentic to flip the proportions of gin and vermouth (i.e. 2:1 vermouth:gin) but…well, what can I say? I like gin. The Savoy Cocktail Book uses equal parts gin and vermouth, so play around with it to your heart’s content.

Some variations use dry vermouth and triple sec or curaçao in place of sweet vermouth and Maraschino, but I think the sweet vermouth version is much better.

My recipe is based on Dave Arnold’s in “Liquid Intelligence”. Simple, but brilliant.

Ingredients

Given the age of this recipe, Old Tom gin would normally be the natural choice for an old-timey flavour. This time I chose the wonderful Rock Rose Distillers Edition gin because of its soft, subtle, flavours.

For the vermouth, I decided it was time to crack open the Carpano Antica Formula. This stuff is amazing. I’ve got nothing against Martini Rosso, but this is in a completely different league in terms of complexity of taste and aroma.

The taste

Hard to believe, in terms of flavour profile, but many believe this delicious drink is the father of the Martini. It’s a much warmer, sweeter, friendlier proposition.

Many of the classic cocktails of the golden age seem to have been assembled by people with an almost supernatural ability to balance complex combinations of sweet, bitter, and aromatic ingredients.

“Elegant” would be the word I would choose to describe this. Drinking it makes me feel wittier. A fun start.