The Ultimate A-to-Z Bar Guide by Sharon Tyler Herbst

Author:Sharon Tyler Herbst [Herbst, Sharon Tyler]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56842-7
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 1998-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

Gilroy

Shake ingredients with ice; strain into chilled glass.

Gimlet [GIHM-liht] The British say that the secret of a truly good gimlet is thorough mixing with ice. If you substitute fresh lime juice for the ROSE’S LIME JUICE, add 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar. If desired, the rim of the glass may frosted by dipping it in lime juice, then granulated sugar. Chill the sugar-frosted glass thoroughly before preparing the drink.

Shake liquid ingredients with ice. Strain into chilled glass; garnish with lime.

gin A distilled (see DISTILLATION) liquor made from grain and flavored primarily with juniper berries. According to most historians, the “Father of Gin” was Dutchman Franciscus de la Bée, a University of Leiden professor of medicine, also known as Doctor Sylvius. It was 1650 when the good Doctor developed an alcohol-based medicinal infused with juniper berries—oil of juniper having known therapeutic properties as an appetite stimulant, stomach soother, fever reducer, and sedative, to name just a few. The Dutch called this potion jenever (juniper), the French, geniévre. British soldiers stationed in the Netherlands during the late seventeenth century tagged gin “Dutch courage” for its restorative powers and brought it home, where it fast became the rage and is still an English favorite.

In the most basic terms, gin is first distilled until it achieves a desired alcohol level, then redistilled with juniper berries and other botanicals to extract the desired flavors. Distilled water is then added to adjust the alcohol concentration to somewhere between 80 and 95 PROOF. Gin producers closely guard their secret recipes, which can contain numerous botanicals, including angelica, anise, calamus root, caraway seed, cardamom, cassia bark, cinnamon, citrus peel, coriander seeds, fennel, ginger, licorice, and orris root.

There are two primary styles of gin—Dutch and dry. Dutch gin, also known as Hollands, Genever, Jenever, and Schiedam gin, is typically made from equal parts of malted (see MALT) barley, corn, and rye. This style of gin is slightly sweet, has a malty CHARACTER, and is generally fuller flavored than dry gin. There are two styles of Dutch gin: Oude (“old”) has a stronger flavor, due to a higher proportion of barley than the Jonge (“young”) style, which is lighter in flavor and texture. Dry gin—the style of choice for most of the gin-drinking world—is made primarily from corn with a small percentage of malted barley and other grains. This gin is typically DRY (not sweet), aromatic, and moderately light in flavor and BODY. Dry gins made in England (where this style originated) commonly have a slightly higher alcohol content and are more flavorful than American-made gins. Labels indicating “English Dry Gin,” “London Dry Gin,” or “London Extra Dry Gin” allude to the gin’s style, not where it was produced. Plymouth gin (also called Plym) is a dry gin made only in Plymouth, England; it is fuller bodied and stronger flavored than the London style. Flavored gins are infused with added flavorings, such as almond, lemon, lime, mint, and so on, and are labeled appropriately. In order for these potables to be labeled “gin,” however, the fundamental flavoring agent must be juniper berries.

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