As the name of this blog suggests, I do indeed love my spirits. Not just whisky either, but pretty much all distilled liquor. And that includes Gin.
Gin is in a class of its own, but what makes it unique is not the type of spirit used, but the process of making it.
The main flavour of the gin does not come from the base ingredient used to create in, which is typically grain such as rye, barley, wheat or sometimes, to break the mold, even grape. Instead, the main taste comes from juniper berries, which are added during the distillation process to give gin its unique flavour.
In fact, gin takes its name from the word genévrier , which is French for juniper.
If that were all there was to it, gin could pretty accurately described as juniper vodka. So, another layer of complexity is added through a mix of botanicals, which is a fancy way of saying that more plant flavours are infused into the not-quite-gin. What these plants are differ from distiller to distiller, and they’re certainly not giving their secrets away. We do know that it could be anything from three to thirty ingredients, and include orange peel, cassia bark, coriander and a host of others.
Which brings us to our story today.
I love the smell of lavender. Calming but not nap-inducing like camomile. Sweet and fresh bit not cloying. Not earthy, not heavy. Just right for a nice, cool day. I already have a habit of adding just a pinch to my Earl Grey, so it seems logical that lavender, which is undeniably a botanical, should go very well indeed with gin.
First, a word on lavender. While abundant in Europe (so abundant as to be considered a weed in some places the horror!), it is much less available here in Singapore. I hunted everywhere for a fresh sprig, but alas, it was not to be. The next best alternative, dried lavender, was still an elusive herb. I had interesting responses from people I asked ranging from the forgivable (“We’ve got lavender tea?”) to the not so helpful (“How about lavender soap?”), to the downright bizarre (“You mean you want to get to Lavender mrt?”).
I finally solved my problem at a baking shop- which had beautiful sealed and dried lavender buds. Not as good as the fresh ones, but not too bad!
Lavender Gin
700ml London Dry Gin (I used Bombay Sapphire)
2 Tablespoons lavender buds
Mix the 2 tablespoons of lavender buds with the gin in a container. Let infuse for 3 days, then filter and bottle the gin. Take care not to infuse it for too long, or the scent and taste of lavender will overpower everything else.
The final product was a light gold liquid that gave off delightful scents of lavender- almost like smelling the buds directly. The infused lavender gave the gin a mellow, sweet and slightly herbal taste. The experience of drinking the gin straight was almost intoxicating. Waves of relaxation emanated from the calming aroma and earthy, sweet taste, putting me in a rather contemplative mood.
A byproduct of the contemplative mood was the musing on how to evolve the lavender gin. A bit (well ok, quite a bit) of experimentation later, I came up with something that was a bit of an oxymoron. Refreshing- but mellow!
Lavender Gin and Honey Lemon Tonic
3/4 Oz. lavender gin
1/2 Oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 Oz. natural honey
3/4 Oz. tonic water
Fill a mixing glass with ice, and add the ingredients, including the tonic water. Stir well, then strain into a glass. Garnish with Lavender buds and serve.
The citrus taste of lemon complemented the earthy taste of lavender, creating a balanced tart yet smoky flavour. The honey and tonic water added bittersweet elements that created a fine balanced drink. The sharp lemon and the effervescence of the tonic water created a refreshing mouthfeel that was just heavenly (on top of being intoxicating). Seems like you can create an oxymoronic drink and still enjoy it after all!
In fact, I liked this liquid ambrosia so much that I’m close to finishing my entire batch of lavender gin just making it and pairing it with biscuits.
The beautiful thing, of course, is that I get to make even more.
