While there seems like there’s a new gin or spirit popping up every week now, not all of them are actually new. Quite often, we see gins that retread the same path with a few minor tweaks and a lick of paint. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but sometimes we like a flight of fancy.
Fortunately, there are some new spirits that are plenty interesting. We take a gander at five of them.
Beer and Gin: Brass Lion Level 33 Hopped Dry Gin
Now, craft gins are not a new phenomenon. One that’s made entirely in Singapore, however is something to take a look at, especially if you’re Singaporean. Even more interesting is that this has an added twist.
In partnership with with LeVeL33, Singapore’s -and the world’s- highest urban microbrewery, a new gin has been made. LeVel 33 itself has been making great beer on its own premises for a long while now, and the fusion of craft gin and craft beer is something that we get excited about.
The gin itself is a departure from the normal Brass Lion Singapore Dry Gin. The standard is juniper-forward, with a distinct citrus element to it. While the folks at Brass Lion and LeVel 33 tried distilling and infusing beers, the coffee and chocolate notes of malted barley proved too much for a gin.
Instead, the other key ingredient of a modern beer was used: hops. More precisely, Citra hops. The Citra varietal, first bred in 1990, has the citrusy aromas of grapefruit and lime that freshens the flavour of beer and balances any rich, malty notes.
Turns out, it does much the same thing in gin.
The nose has a distinct whiff of grain that one finds in grain alcohol, along with a powerful aroma of grapefruit, orange peel, hops and herbs. The gin itself tastes fresh and citrusy; we find a heavy flavour of grapefruit and limes, with hoppy bitterness and spice- particularly white pepper- to round it off. It resembles a Tanqueray Ten, but with a spicy and pleasantly bitter edge.
The LeVeL33 Hopped Gin is available exclusively in LeVeL33. It can be ordered as a Gin & Tonic or neat. Bottles are also available for retail.
Something Asian: The Orientalist
For something totally different, we can also look to The Orientalist. While there is, indeed a gin amongst its ranks based on gunpowder tea, founder Michel Lu has chosen to hold it back for now.
What we got instead, are two things: a blended whisky named “Dragon” and a vodka named “Origins”. The former is a blend of whiskies from Asia and has a distinct sherried flavour that is reminiscent of a certain Taiwanese distillery.
The vodka, however, is pretty unique.
Most vodkas in the world are made with a single grain variety, and tout the “clean and smooth” qualities that come from multiple (some would say excessive) distillations. The Orientalist Origins Vodka, however, is made with organic Thai longan honey, Tibetan highland barley and nine varieties of potatoes blended with spring water from Kagoshima, Japan.
The result is a spirit with a thick, syrupy texture that is redolent with the aromas and flavours of ripe longans and honey. It’s almost like taking a bite into the juicy flesh of the berrylike fruit- but with quite the kick.
Its natural sweetness makes it so unvodka-like that we think that it’s really in its own category of spirit; it’s delicious on its own but will require adjustments when used in cocktails.
For more information, check out their website.
East meets West: Empirical Spirits
And finally, a spirit brand that we think is interesting, but doesn’t fit neatly in any white spirit category.
These are not gins, but spirits made from barley, fermented with koji – the same mould used to ferment miso and soy sauce, and then blended with pilsner malt, naked barley and Belgian Saison. The alcohol is distilled at low temperatures within a vacuum, and then flavoured with a range of unusual botanical ingredients.
We liked the base product, named Helena. It’s a double fermented clear koji spirit made from barley koji, pilsner malt, and Belgian Saison yeast. The flavours that emerge are almost sake-like, with a savoury flavour that combines sake with subtle nuttiness and even a sweet cooked barley flavour. It’s quite nice to sip, especially with some light seafood.
For more information, you can check out their website here. You can get bottles at Temple Cellars.
Wine meets Gin: Ferdinand’s Gin
Ferdinand is somewhat unique as gins go. Made from a blend of equal parts rye, spelt and wheat spirit, it is flavoured with 30 different botanicals, grown in the garden of its makers. That’s not the interesting part, however; it’s not really the number of botanicals, it’s the types.
As for the makers, they are among some of the most acclaimed makers of Riesling in the world, from the Saar-Mosel region, which is to Riesling what Burgundy is to Pinot Noir. When in Saar, do as the Saarbrückers do, and make Riesling. Then infuse it into your gin and call it Ferdinand’s.
The result is quite interesting. The gin comes in three varieties. The regular Ferdinand’s Dry Gin, which has the aromas of pine, juniper, lavender and lemon. The flavour is a light, breezy combination of woodland, fruits and flowers: lavender, lemons, green apples, juniper and pine. The Cask Strength version is stronger, of course, and adds a mild green note to the gin.
Where it gets fun is in the Goldcap, the premium version of Ferdinand’s, made with the highest quality Gold Cap Rieslings that give the gin its flavour. We find the familiar lavender and lemongrass, and a touch of fresh plums and lemon. There’s some juniper, thyme, honeysuckle, and what seems to the tart, fruity fragrance of white grapes at the end.
The last one, the Saar Quince, is the distillery’s homage to the sloe gin. Sloe was used to flavour gins as it grew in abundance in the bushes of the British Isles. The Saar, while not having sloe in abundance, does have quince, a pearlike fruit. The flavours of the quince are expressed in the a gin, giving it the flavours of ripe pears, hnoneysuckle, mirabelle and caramelised fruit.
These are some of the best gins that we’ve ever tried. They combine a lightness with a complex interweaving of flavour that we find most appealing. They are particularly good in G&Ts.
For more information, check out the website here.
Wine within Gin: Sorgin
For a gin with even more wine influence, there’s Sorgin. The base is not the grain alcohols that we typically see, but the same distillate that is used in the making of cognac; a clear grape brandy made from Ugni Blanc grapes. It is combined with grape brandy made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes and an infusion of seven different botanicals.
The gin is quite different because of its components. The nose is floral, pleasant. There’s hardly any juniper but plenty of fruity, white grape pulp aromas combined with a light sprinkling of white pepper. A sweet floral aroma said to be that of the Spartium flower, also known as the Spanish broom, is also present.
The flavour is sweet and fruity, a rounded grape-like flavour. There’s blackcurrants, plums, grapefruit and a bit of fresh white peach in it. Still, there’s a bit of herb, grass and white pepper, and the requisite juniper to balance it out.
Overall, we find the gin quite pleasant and mellow. It’s one of those gins that you don’t really need a mixer for: it’s particularly good as a sipping gin. If you prefer it cool, we suggest stirring it into a martini, or as a G&T.
You can get more information and get a bottle here.
